83% of the dead in the Gauze They were civilians, an extremely high percentage, rarely observed in wars in recent decades, according to the British “Guardian” on Thursday (21.08.2025).
According to the «Guardian»are data from a confidential database of the Military Information Service of Israelon the basis of which five out of six Palestinians killed in Gauze They were civilians.
Until May 2025, 19 months after the start of the Israeli war in Gaza, Israeli intelligence officials recorded 8,900 named men of Hamas and Islamic Jihad as dead or “probably dead”, according to a joint survey of «Guardian»of the Israeli -Palestinian magazine «+972 Magazine» and the Jewish media «Local Call».
At the same time, Gaza’s health authorities reported that 53,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli attacks, including fighters and civilians. The fighters recorded in the Israeli intelligence database made up just 17% of the total, showing that 83% of the dead were civilians.
‘Extremely high’ percentage of civilian deaths
This percentage is considered extremely high for modern conflicts, even in conflicts known for uncontrolled violence, such as civil wars in Syria and Sudan.
“This percentage of civilians between the dead would be unusually high, especially as it lasts so long,” he said Therése Pettersson by the «Uppsala Conflict Data Program»watching the deaths of civilians worldwide. “If you choose a particular city or battle in another conflict, you may find similar rates, but rarely overall.”
Since 1989, in global conflicts watching the UCDPthe highest percentage of civilians were only in Srebrenica -and not overall in the Bosnian war -in the Rwanda genocide and during the siege of Mariupol from Russia in 2022.
Many experts, legal and human rights activists, including Israeli academics and organizations, accuse Israel of Genocide in Gaza, citing the mass murder of civilians and famine, which organizations have been described as “deliberate”.
What did Israel’s army answer
The Israeli Army did not question the existence of the database nor the evidence of the deaths of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad when asked by the «Local Call» and «+972 Magazine». When the «Guardian“He asked for a comment on the same facts, a spokesman said they decided to” recast “their answer.
A brief statement to the “Guardian” did not immediately answer the questions about the military intelligence database.
Said that ‘The items presented in the article are incorrect’without specifying what data the Israeli army is questioning, and that the numbers “do not reflect the data available in the Israeli army systems”, without details.
The database names 47,653 Palestinians as active in the military sections of Hamas and her Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It is based on internal documents seized in Gaza and have not been tested by the Guardian.
Multiple sources of information that know the base said the army considers it the only reliable record for the deaths of fighters.
The Army also considers the number of dead that the Gaza Ministry of Health gives, according to the report, while the former military leader has recently rejected him, although Israeli politicians often reject these numbers, saying that this is propaganda.
Can items underestimate real numbers
Both databases can underestimate victim numbers. The Gaza Ministry of Health records only recovered people, not the thousands buried under debris. Israeli military intelligence services are unaware of all the deaths of fighters or everyone involving new recruited. But these bases are used for military planning.
Israeli politicians and generals have given different numbers to the fighters killed – up to 20,000 – or claimed that the ratio of civilians to fighters was 1: 1.
The highest numbers probably include civilians with connections to Hamas, such as government officials and police, although international law prohibits the targeting of non -involved in battle.
They probably also include Palestinians with no connection to Hamasreports «Guardian». The South Israeli administration allowed the soldiers to record victims in Gaza as fighters without identification or verification, according to the same information.
“They are promoted to the rank of terrorist after their death”said a source of information that accompanied forces in the field. “If I listened to the Brigade, I would say we had killed 200% of Hamas fighters in the area.”
What do expert analysts report
THE Itzhak Brika retired general, said active soldiers knew that politicians were exaggerating when referring to the number of fighters. “There is no link between the announced numbers and reality. It’s just a big bluff ».
Even if much of Gaza has been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have been killed, the secret base reports nearly 40,000 people who are considered fighters and alive.
At the same time, estimates by members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad show that the Israelis exaggerate when they talk about the number of fighters in public statements.
The ratio of civilian deaths probably increased further after May, when Israel tried to replace the UN and humanitarian organizations that supplied the Palestinians throughout the war.
Now hungry survivors, limited to just 20% of the area, were ordered to leave the northern part, as Israel is preparing for a new land businesswhich will probably have disastrous consequences for civilians.
source: Guardian