In recent updates from the United Nations about the conflict in Gaza, there has been a significant change in the reported number of casualties. Initially, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported more than 9,500 women and 14,500 children among the dead as of May 6. However, two days later, these numbers were revised down to under 5,000 women and 8,000 children.

This change has raised questions about the accuracy of the initial data. David Adesnik, a research director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, pointed out that the UN had been using data from the Hamas-run Government Media Office (GMO) until May 6. After that, the source of the data was not cited, and the figures were closer to those reported by the Gaza Health Ministry on May 2.

It would seem that trusting a terrorist organization for honest numbers may not be a great idea.

Further analysis by Gabriel Epstein from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy found differences between the data from two Hamas-run institutions. His findings in late March showed that earlier reports had significantly understated the number of adult male fatalities, who are more likely to be combatants.

The UN’s way of reporting casualties in Gaza is different from how it handles data in other conflict zones, like Ukraine. In Ukraine, the UN uses a detailed methodology that relies on individual records and a standard of proof. Hillel Neuer, the executive director of UN Watch (watchdog group), criticized the UN’s approach in Gaza, suggesting it shows bias when Israel is involved. He noted that in Gaza, there is no clear methodology or standard of proof, and the numbers often come from sources controlled by Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by many countries.

The credibility of casualty data from Gaza has been further questioned after the Ministry of Health, run by Hamas, admitted that over 10,000 previously reported deaths had incomplete data. This raises doubts about earlier claims that 70 percent of Palestinian casualties were women or children.

Where many of us come from, that’s called lying.

John Spencer, a professor specializing in urban war studies, compared Israel’s military operations in Gaza with other recent urban conflicts like Mosul, Iraq. He noted that the ratio of combatants to civilians killed in Gaza, which is approaching 1:1, would be historically low for modern urban warfare.