WHO considers Palestinian authorities' casualty figures reliable
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the death and injury figures given by the Palestinian authorities to be reliable. This was stated by Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel.
In conflict situations, the WHO always relies on the figures provided by the health authorities, he said. The Palestinian authorities had always proved to be reliable in the past. After previous conflict situations, their information on casualties had been checked retrospectively and had proved to be largely accurate. The number of victims had been underestimated rather than overestimated by the authorities.
Peeperkorn referred to a study in the specialist journal "The Lancet". It reported on December 6 that there were no signs that the Palestinian authorities were inflating the number of deaths or injuries.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 18,200 people have been killed and another 50,000 injured in the Gaza Strip since October 7 up to and including Monday.
On October 7, Palestinian terrorists attacked Israel, killing around 1200 people and deporting more than 200 to the Gaza Strip. Israel declared war on Hamas, the organization ruling the Gaza Strip at the time. Since then, the Israeli army has been attacking the densely populated area in the fight against terrorists. Almost two million of the 2.2 million inhabitants have been displaced by the fighting.
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WHO's assessment of reliable victim numbers in the Gaza war aligns with those provided by the Palestinian authorities, as echoed by Richard Peeperkorn. In the past, these figures have been found to be reasonably accurate during post-conflict audits, often underestimating rather than overestimating the number of casualties.
The World Health Organization has consistently relied on the data from health authorities in conflict zones, and the Palestinian authorities have demonstrated reliability in providing such information in the past.
Source: www.ntv.de
