The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has disclosed a list detailing the more than 7,000 Palestinians, which includes almost 3,000 children, who have lost their lives since the war began on October 7. The list, which spans over 150 pages, portrays the devastating loss of entire families due to Israeli air attacks. Each name on the list is matched with a government ID number to demonstrate transparency.
However, this documentation has been met with scepticism from the United States President, Joe Biden. He expressed his doubts less than a day after the list was released, stating his lack of confidence in the numbers provided by the Palestinians. Biden’s comments have sparked outcry among advocates for Palestinian rights, who perceive his statements as an attempt to ‘dehumanise’ Palestinians while continuing to back Israel’s bombing campaign.
Critics of Biden’s stance have been quick to highlight the reliability of the Palestinian Health Ministry’s data, as supported by human rights experts, including those at the United Nations. Zeina Ashrawi Hutchison, a Palestinian American activist, has labelled Biden’s comments as ‘outrageous, irresponsible and flat-out racist and anti-Palestinian’.
As the US persists in resisting calls for a ceasefire, Biden’s public doubts have been condemned by the likes of Yara Asi, a Palestinian American public health expert. She labelled the president’s comments ‘appalling’, suggesting that they further dehumanise Palestinians.
With Israel barring foreign journalists or researchers from entering Gaza amid the escalating conflict, the health ministry’s data has become the primary source for understanding the Palestinian death count. According to Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), the data provided by the ministry has often mirrored the nonprofit’s own research. Shakir also pointed out that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the US State Department have also cited the health authority’s data.
Alongside casting doubt over Palestinian accounts, the Biden administration has consistently refused independent investigations into suspected Israeli war crimes. Palestinian Americans have voiced their concerns that Biden’s comments regarding the Palestinian death toll only serve to reinforce his adoption of the Israeli government’s narratives, at the expense of Palestinian victims.
Dana El Kurd, a non-resident senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC, stated, “This is incredibly dehumanising and casts suspicion around Palestinians writ large. The assumption is that they are always lying and that they are always inaccurate narrators of what’s happening to them.”
