Gaza child death toll 252, 'not 89' claimed by Israeli forces
Wednesday September 09 2009
ISRAELI'S official figures seriously underestimated the civilian Palestinian death toll exacted during its onslaught in Gaza early this year, according to new research to be published today.
The first detailed casualty figures from an Israeli human rights organisation since the war ended puts the number of children under 16 killed in the offensive at 252 as opposed to the 89 cited by the military.
B'Tselem, which carried out "months of meticulous investigation and cross-checks with numerous sources", gathered death certificates, photos and testimonies relating to all 252 of the children.
Unlike the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) B'Tselem also made public the names of all those it said were killed.
It said that since the IDF had refused to furnish the agency with its own detailed list, it was impossible to compare the names but that "the blatant discrepancy between the numbers is intolerable".
The IDF is currently investigating allegations that a soldier shot and killed two young Palestinian girls and wounded their sister as they walked from their house with their parents and grandmother, who was waving a white flag.
It is one of several investigations still under way into the conduct of Operation Cast Lead, which the IDF have repeatedly insisted was conducted according to international law.
B'Tselem's total Palestinian death toll exceeds by more than 200 the 1,166 cited by the IDF, which said that around 709 of the dead were "Hamas terror operatives" and that a total of 295 "not involved" Palestinians were killed.
Probe
By contrast, B'Tselem puts the total figure for those who "did not take part in the hostilities" at 773 and is calling for an "independent and credible" probe into the military's conduct of the war.
While acknowledging that the numbers did not themselves prove "that Israel violated the laws of war", they should be considered along with "numerous testimonies" by IDF soldiers and Palestinians during and after the operation, B'Tselem said. (© Independent News Services)
- Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
