Israeli military intelligence data indicates that five out of six Palestinians killed by Israel’s army are civilians, reports the Middle East Eye citing a joint investigation.
A report published by +972 Magazine, its Hebrew-language sister outlet Local Call and the Guardian found that as of May this year, a classified Israeli military intelligence database listed 8,900 named Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fighters as dead or “probably dead”.
At that time, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces was around 53,000, according to the Gaza health ministry.That would indicate that 17% of the total deaths were of fighters, while the other 83% were civilian deaths.
When asked about these figures by +972 Magazine and Local Call, the Israeli military did not dispute the existence of such a database, or the number of Hamas and PIJ deaths….
The investigation notes that the percentage of civilian deaths may in fact be higher. This is partly due to the fact that the health ministry death toll likely underestimates the number of those killed by attacks, as it does not include thousands buried under the rubble.
In addition, it is probable that Israeli intelligence officials may have included civilians with alleged connections to Hamas in their figures for combatants. This includes police officers or people involved in administrative positions in Gaza – who under international law are considered non-combatants.
[Read more on Radiancenews.com]