TRUTH EXPLAINED

• Hamas casualty reporting is widely recognized as unreliable. Its Ministry of Health classifies all deaths as “civilians,” routinely mislabels adult males as women or children, includes deaths caused by Hamas itself, and folds natural deaths into its totals. The ministry has repeatedly altered, deleted, and reclassified data throughout the war. (Henry Jackson Society)
• Even if Hamas’s figure is taken at face value, Tucker’s claim collapses. In October 2025, President Trump stated that Hamas had lost approximately 58,000 fighters—roughly 81% of Hamas’s own reported death toll. Even under the absurd assumption that all remaining deaths were women and children, that would leave 13,667 casualties—an implausibly low figure if Israel were deliberately targeting civilians. (New York Post)
• According to these figures,  Israel’s civilian-to-combatant ratio is approximately 0.24:1, which is unheard of in urban warfare. The UN estimates the global average civilian-to-combatant death ratio in urban warfare at 9:1. (UN), (Times of Israel)
• A February 2026 report further undermines Tucker’s claim. Hamas pledged stipends to 50,000 widows of Gazan casualties, implying that roughly 50,000 of its reported deaths were men, not women and children. (ME24)
• Hamas’s total also includes natural deaths. Based on pre-war mortality data, an estimated 16 Gazans died each day of natural causes. Over the course of the war, this amounts to roughly 13,500 deaths unrelated to Israeli military action. (CIA), (JCFA), (Henry Jackson Society)
• Hamas’s reported “child” casualties also include combatants aged 15–18, a cohort Hamas openly recruits and deploys in combat roles. (UN), (TOI)
• The World Health Organization’s own data undercuts the claim that children were targeted. In February 2025, the WHO reported that more than 500,000 children under age 10 were vaccinated against polio in Gaza—over 150,000 more children in that age group than existed there when the war began. (World Health Organization)
• Hamas is directly responsible for a significant share of Gazan casualties. Approximately 20% of rockets launched by Hamas at Israeli civilians misfire and land inside Gaza. Additional deaths result from friendly fire, internal repression, and violence against civilians attempting to access humanitarian aid. (Henry Jackson Society), (NPR)
• Israel’s conduct further contradicts claims of intentional civilian killing. The IDF relies on snipers, armed drones, and precision-guided munitions to target specific terrorist operatives—methods incompatible with indiscriminate mass killing. (The Guardian)
• The IDF also employs extensive civilian warning measures, including phone calls, text messages, leaflet drops, radio broadcasts, and “roof knocking” with non-lethal munitions. These measures hinder battlefield efficiency and would be irrational if civilian deaths were the objective. (IDF)
• Tucker’s claim mirrors those of other professional Israel critics, including UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who falsely claimed Israel killed 380,000 Gazan children under 10—roughly 50,000 more children in that age group than existed in Gaza before the war. (PCBS)