White House official John Kirby said that the government is rejecting the death count numbers reported by Hamas.
Kirby noted the concerns about accuracy in reporting during exchanges with reporters on Wednesday.
White House battles reporters as it rejects Hamas' Gaza death count: We won't cite a 'terrorist organization' https://t.co/nZpPXB5StA #FoxNews
— James W. (@jameswwhite2017) October 27, 2023
"Well, we all know that the Gaza Ministry of Health is just a front for Hamas, it's run by Hamas, a terrorist organization," Kirby stated.
"I've said it myself up here, we can't take anything coming out of Hamas, including the so-called Ministry of Health, at face value," he added.
US President Joe Biden said he has ‘no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using’ for the death toll in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, where the health ministry says over 6,500 have been killed in Israeli attacks https://t.co/qPBmRoJVWL
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 26, 2023
President Joe Biden also expressed his skepticism about the death toll numbers provided by Gaza.
"What they say to me is I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I'm sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war," Biden said.
"(The) Israelis should be incredibly careful to be sure that they're focusing on going after the folks that (are) propagating this war against Israel. And it's against their interest when that doesn't happen," Biden added.
The issue is especially concerning after Hamas claimed that Israel blew up a hospital in Gaza and killed "hundreds" of people.
Instead, evidence showed that terrorists had accidentally fired a rocket into the hospital parking lot. A small number of people were killed rather than the hundreds claimed by Hamas.
The latest response from the White House shows that the concerns over reported casualties by Hamas continue as the conflict with Israel reaches three weeks since the Oct. 7 attacks.
