A new report suggests that the majority of those killed in Gaza during the ongoing war — approximately 83% — have been civilians. The figure is based on an analysis of Israeli military data but has been strongly disputed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which called the findings “incorrect” and criticized the methodology used.
The investigation, conducted by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, examined Israeli military records reportedly showing that as of May 19, 2025, nearly 53,000 people had been killed in Gaza. Of those, only about 8,900 were identified by name as fighters affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
According to the outlets, the data was drawn from an internal Israeli database containing the names of roughly 47,653 individuals involved in the military wings of Hamas and PIJ. However, the IDF had confirmed fewer than 20% of those fighters as killed during the war’s first 18 months. Analysts involved in the report said this suggests a disproportionately high civilian death toll.
Israeli intelligence sources, however, argue the number of combatants killed is much higher than publicly confirmed. They point out that the database only includes named individuals and doesn’t account for militants who were killed but not identified, nor does it include unaffiliated armed fighters or Hamas members not serving in combat roles at the time of death.
The IDF’s most recent public statement puts the number of enemy operatives killed at around 22,000. Meanwhile, the overall death toll in Gaza has surpassed 62,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry — a figure that includes both civilians and combatants, but lacks any official breakdown.
While the IDF has previously acknowledged that the civilian-to-combatant death ratio is roughly 2:1 — meaning two civilians killed for every militant — it rejected the significantly higher civilian casualty rate suggested by Thursday’s report.
“The figures presented in the article are incorrect and do not reflect the data available in the IDF’s systems,” the Israeli military said in a statement. “Throughout the war, intelligence assessments regarding the number of terrorists eliminated are constantly updated using bomb damage assessment (BDA) and cross-referencing data from multiple sources — including documents from terrorist organizations.”
The IDF also defended its operational procedures, stating, “The IDF is a professional military that operates in line with standards accepted by militaries around the world. The claims presented in the article not only misrepresent the facts but also show a fundamental lack of understanding of military practices.”
However, the IDF did not directly address which specific figures it disputes or clarify details about the internal military database referenced in the report.
