IDF now concedes Gaza death toll exceeds 70,000

Posted: 3rd February 2026

A new article by Dr Brian Brivati, Executive Director of the Britain Palestine Project, examines a significant and deeply disturbing development.

In a private briefing to Israeli journalists on 29 January 2026, the Israel Defence Forces accepted that over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza – a figure long reported by the Gaza Health Ministry and previously dismissed by Israeli officials as unreliable.

• The IDF now concedes the Gaza Health Ministry’s figures are “largely accurate”, excluding more than 10,000 people still missing under rubble

• By the IDF’s own estimates, more than two-thirds of those killed were civilians, including around 20,000 children

• Gaza’s civilian death toll is proportionately higher than in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, or Ukraine, making it an extreme outlier in modern warfare

• The acceptance of these figures directly undermines claims that civilian harm was minimised and raises serious questions about compliance with international humanitarian law

If you find this analysis useful, you can subscribe to our Substack to receive more writing, commentary, and briefings directly from the Britain Palestine Project.

With best wishes,
Britain Palestine Project