Dialogos-logo
dia-LOGOS
The Justifications That Fall Apart: Fact-Checking Common Claims About the Gaza War
The conflict in Gaza has generated an overwhelming torrent of information, often making it incredibly difficult to discern fact from fiction amidst the passionate rhetoric and competing narratives. In such a charged environment, accurate understanding demands a commitment to weighing information neutrally and critically examining claims from a multitude of diverse sources. This article meticulously fact-checks common justifications and assertions about the Gaza War, rigorously sifting through available data to present a more balanced and informed perspective.
admin
May 31, 2025
Uncategorized
Written by Jacobus van Zyl: dia-LOGOS consultant and cross-cultural worker based in Lebanon and Southern Africa. He writes from lived experience, offering grounded perspectives on conflict, justice, and truth.
As the war in Gaza stretches on after 20 months, many well-meaning people continue to repeat justifications for Israel’s military campaign that simply do not hold up to scrutiny. These narratives, however widespread, collapse under the weight of data, precedent, and international law. This article addresses several of the most persistent claims and examines what the facts reveal. It does not argue for Hamas or excuse violence against civilians from any side. Its purpose is singular: to challenge misinformation and clarify what is actually happening on the ground.

The Death Toll in Gaza Is Fake or Exaggerated

This has become one of the most commonly repeated claims, especially in political discourse and Western media. Critics argue that the Gaza Ministry of Health is controlled by Hamas and therefore unreliable. But independent analysis paints a different picture.

The Gaza Ministry of Health collects data directly from hospitals, morgues, clinics, and emergency responders. Each case is logged with names, ID numbers, ages, and gender. During the war, officials have released comprehensive casualty lists, on October 27, 2023, for instance, they published a 212-page list of 6,747 named fatalities, including personal details. No evidence has emerged to indicate widespread fabrication of this list.

By March 2025, the death toll surpassed 53,000, with over 15,600 of the victims being children, more than 31% of the total. These numbers are not merely estimates. They have been reviewed by third parties:

  • The United Nations and World Health Organization (WHO) use these figures in official reporting.
  • Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Every Casualty Counts both confirm the Gaza health data is “generally reliable.”
  • A 2024 study in The Lancet found no evidence of inflated death tolls, and instead estimated the actual number may be undercounted by 40% due to inaccessible rubble and communications failures.
Even the U.S. State Department and Israeli military reviewed a list of over 6,700 names and found the reports “reliable.” The narrative that the figures are fake has no basis in the evidence and collapses under direct verification.

Just Give Back the Hostages and This Will All Stop

At face value, this seems like a moral imperative: release the hostages, end the war. However, Israeli leadership has made it clear that the war is not primarily about retrieving hostages. Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly stated that the “supreme goal” of the war is the destruction of Hamas, not the safe return of captives.

From the outset, military operations were not limited to hostage recovery. In fact, they put the hostages in greater danger. On October 9, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of Gaza—cutting off water, fuel, electricity, and food to 2.3 million people, including the hostages themselves.

The scale of destruction far exceeds what would be expected in a tactical rescue campaign:

  • 92% of Gaza’s housing has been destroyed or severely damaged.
  • More than 1,200 Palestinian families have been completely wiped out, no surviving members.
  • The Israeli military acknowledged it had struck over 5,000 targets within just the first month of fighting.

They Started It on October 7

There is no question that Hamas’s attack on October 7, which killed approximately 1,200 people, was a horrific and unlawful act. However, the idea that October 7 occurred in a vacuum, and therefore justifies any level of response, is historically inaccurate.

Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since 2007, long before the October 7 attack. This blockade has been described by the United Nations as creating conditions of an “open-air prison” for over 2.3 million people, the majority of whom are refugees from earlier conflicts.

Before October 2023:

  • In 2014, over 2,200 Palestinians, including more than 500 children, were killed during Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. By comparison, 73 Israelis were killed, a 30:1 ratio.
  • In 2021, another round of escalation killed 260 Palestinians, while the death toll in Israel was 13.
To treat October 7 as the sole origin of violence is to erase decades of prior suffering, military occupation, and conflict. This context does not justify the October 7 attack, but it is necessary to understand why the current war cannot be morally or legally justified simply by pointing to that date.

There Are No Innocent Civilians in Gaza

This belief, that all of Gaza is “Hamas,” and therefore all are valid targets, has been voiced openly by senior Israeli officials. President Isaac Herzog declared on October 12, “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible.” But legally and factually, this is false.
  • Gaza’s population is 50% children under 18.
  • The median age is just 18 years old.
  • There have been no elections in Gaza since 2006. The vast majority of Gazans did not vote for Hamas and have no political recourse.
International law prohibits collective punishment, regardless of the composition of the population or their government. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly forbids holding a population accountable for the actions of a few.

As of early 2025, 65–70% of those killed have been women and children, according to verified UN data. Suggesting that a child pulled from the rubble somehow deserved this fate because of where they live is not only morally indefensible, it is a violation of international humanitarian law.

Hamas Hides Among Civilians, So Civilian Deaths Are Unavoidable

This is one of the most persistent talking points: that because Hamas operates within dense urban areas, civilian casualties are inevitable and acceptable. But again, international law is clear.

Even if militants are present in civilian zones, the attacking force is still required to:

  • Distinguish between civilians and combatants.
  • Take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize harm to civilians.
  • Avoid disproportionate attacks, even when a military target is present.
The claim that warnings to evacuate absolve legal responsibility is incorrect. According to Human Rights Watch, issuing a warning does not eliminate the requirement to avoid disproportionate harm to civilians who remain.

Examples of likely disproportionate attacks include:

  • Repeated Israeli bombings of the Jabalia refugee camp, which killed dozens of civilians in an attempt to eliminate a few militants.
  • A UN investigation into six emblematic IDF airstrikes concluded that the Israeli military “may have repeatedly violated fundamental principles of the laws of war,” with possible crimes against humanity cited.

What About Hamas’s War Crimes?

This is often used as a deflection rather than a defense. Yes, Hamas has committed war crimes, including the targeting and killing of civilians and taking of hostages. But international law is non-reciprocal: one side’s violations do not justify violations by the other.
  • Two wrongs do not make a right under the Geneva Conventions.
  • Israel, as a state actor with advanced military capabilities, is held to a higher standard of conduct.
  • The claim that Israel may bomb civilians because Hamas uses "human shields" ignores the requirement to still minimize harm and avoid disproportionality.
As the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, stated, “The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum… But those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Conclusion: Distinguishing Truth from Justification

In times of crisis, it’s natural to seek clarity and moral footing. But repeating claims that have been thoroughly disproven does not provide clarity, it clouds it. The facts are not ambiguous: most Gazans are civilians.

The death toll is real and verifiable. The war has exceeded any boundaries of proportional response.

This article does not excuse Hamas’s actions. It simply asserts that no party can use the wrongdoing of another to escape accountability for its own.

In a world that values justice, the test is not how we treat our friends, but how we treat the powerless, especially when we hold the power to destroy.

1. PBS NewsHour. “What is Gaza’s Ministry of Health and how does it calculate the war’s death toll?”
2. Al Jazeera. “UN says Gaza Health Ministry death tolls in previous wars were reliable.” October 27, 2023.
3. Reuters. “How many Palestinians has Israel's Gaza offensive killed?” January 15, 2025.
4. The Lancet. “No evidence of inflated mortality reporting by the Gaza Health Ministry.” December 2023.
5. Associated Press. “Gaza death toll includes more women and children than men, analysis shows.”
6. Times of Israel. “PM: Return of hostages important but war’s supreme goal is victory over enemies.”
7. Al Jazeera. “Israeli defence minister orders ‘complete siege’ on Gaza.” October 9, 2023.
8. Anadolu Agency. “Israel’s use of heavy bombs in Gaza raises concerns of possible war crimes: UN.”
9. Doctors Without Borders. “Destruction of homes leaves Palestinians unable to safely return.”
10. United Nations Press Release. “Security Council debates Gaza civilian toll and Israel’s obligations under international law.”
11. Human Rights Watch. “How does international humanitarian law apply to Israel and Gaza?” October 27, 2023.
12. Geneva Convention (IV). Article 33 – Prohibition of Collective Punishment.
13. Business Insider. “Nearly half of Gaza’s population are children.”
14. BBC News. “UN data confirms 44% of Gaza deaths are women and children.”
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter