Some 3,400 previously identified deaths from its August and October 2024 reports can no longer be found in the PDFs released by the ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between combatants and civilians.

At least 1,000 children are among those no longer on the list, according to two research reports, which corroborated each other’s findings.

The discrepancy has made researchers concerned about the possibility of numbers being intentionally inflated by Hamas, especially since the health ministry’s figures are widely reported in international media and seen as relevant by the likes of the UN, and triggering widespread social response and even political developments.