Closer look: How do we know how many people have died in Gaza
The World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 7,028 people have now been killed in Gaza and, as reported in my
previous post, that 41% of them are children.
There have been questions about how the WHO gets these figures since its own ability to work inside Gaza is highly restricted - plus there are suggestions that Hamas, who run the health ministry in Gaza, may be exaggerating the numbers.
Today the WHO’s representative in its office for the West Bank and Gaza, Richard Peeperkorn, explained that the WHO, in any conflict, emergency, or disease outbreak, relies on the local health authorities to provide statistics.
He said the WHO had received a list of 6,747 names and registration numbers of those who had died, and an additional figure - 281 - of bodies which had yet to be identified. He also said there were indications that many more people had died, but could not be counted because they remained under the rubble.
In a sign of impatience with the frequent questioning about the reliability of figures that come from Hamas,
Dr Peeperkorn said he found the discussion somewhat "cynical" and asked if views would change if the deaths were 1,000 less or 1,000 more.
He also explained that the WHO has, over the years, worked regularly with the authorities in Gaza to record births, deaths, and immunisations - and these figures had proved reliable.
