Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
When asked why such a large number was announced simultaneously, the Hamas government’s Media Office in Gaza explained that statistics are released periodically.
It is not the first time the health ministry has made such a revision.
“Because the judicial committee issues its report periodically rather than daily. They follow their own procedural protocols, and once their report was finalised, it was officially adopted,” Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the Media Office, told AFP.
With Gaza largely in ruins after more than 18 months of war, the health ministry has struggled to count the death toll.
Israel has repeatedly questioned the credibility of the daily figures put out by the ministry, criticising the Gaza authorities for failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians. But neither the Israeli military nor top Israeli officials have denied the scale of the overall toll.
Earlier this year, Israel and Hamas agreed to a truce, which began on January 19, but collapsed two months later on March 18 due to disagreements over the next phase of the deal.
Since then, Israel has resumed its military campaign in Gaza, resulting in at least 2,151 additional deaths.
SOURCE :- NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
