Changes in the data reflecting the number of Palestinian deaths in the Israel-Hamas war are the result of the “revision and verification process” and not manipulation or inflation by Hamas, Zaher al-Wahidi, an official for the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, told BBC News on Wednesday.
"The health ministry works towards having accurate data with high credibility,” Wahidi asserted. "In every list that gets shared, there is a greater verification and revision of the list. We cannot say that the health ministry removes names. It's not a removal process, rather it is a revision and verification process."
More than 3,000 names were removed from Hamas’s casualty list from August and October. Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.
Why did the Hamas-run Gaza health min. change its casualty count?
Due to disruptions at medical centers relating to the war, medical authorities began in 2024 allowing families to log deaths of remotely, he claimed. Most of the names recently removed from the list, he said, were done so over a new checking process and would likely be re-added later.
"A judicial committee was set up and it looks into all of the cases received," Wahidi stressed. "To ensure credibility we verify the data so that it will be accurate."
He added that some investigations by the health authorities had found Palestinians had perished as a result of natural causes linked to the war but not directly related - such as in cases of malnutrition or hypothermia.
Others, he said, were removed from the list after it was allegedly discovered they had been detained by Israel and were not among the war’s casualties.