Overview

• Reporters from the Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call say a classified Israeli intelligence database listed 8,900 Hamas and PIJ fighters as dead or probably dead as of May.
• The Israel Defense Forces said the article’s figures are incorrect and do not reflect data in its systems, without specifying which numbers or methods it disputes.
• The database cited may exclude unidentified dead, Gazans who fought without formal group affiliation and some Hamas political figures, which could undercount combatant deaths.
• Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 53,000 total deaths by May, while a Lancet review suggested the overall toll could be up to 40% higher and many bodies remain under rubble.
• The numbers carry legal and political weight as genocide allegations intensify, and prior IDF revisions to its estimate of Hamas fighter strength underscore broader data reliability concerns.