Israel's leader acknowledges that more than half of those killed in Gaza are likely civilians, as the U.N. shifts to a lower estimate of women and children victims.
Jerusalem — Israel 's prime minister said on a podcast that almost half of those killed in the Gaza war are Hamas fighters, again addressing a civilian toll that has sparked global outrage. Benjamin Netanyahu maintained the overall toll is lower than that given by authorities in the Palestinian territory. According to the health ministry in Hamas -run Gaza, at least 35,091 people have been killed in the territory during more than seven months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
''Fourteen thousand have been killed, combatants, and probably around 16,000 civilians have been killed,' he said. He gave similar figures in March during an interview with Politico, at a time when Gaza's health ministry was reporting a toll of at least 31,045, and again in an interview with Dr. Phil in early May.Neither Israel nor Hamas have provided evidence to show how they reach their respective death toll estimates.
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