"The claim that the Ministry of Health "does not distinguish between combatants and civilians" is misleading and gives the impression that most Palestinians killed by Israel are combatants when, in fact, the overwhelming majority are civilians. For over a year, Israel has been systematically targeting civilian infrastructure in occupied Gaza, falsely justifying these attacks by claiming that Hamas leaders are concealing weapons—a narrative the resistance has consistently denied."
November 22, 2024
To:
Sandra Martin, Standards Editor, The Globe and Mail
Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief, The Globe and Mail
Dear Ms. Martin and Mr. Fife,
I am writing from Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) regarding your article titled,“Trudeau says Canada would abide by ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former defence minister.”
Specifically, I take issue with the inclusion of the following sentence: “The death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza has passed 44,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which says more than half of those killed were women and children. Its count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.”
While I appreciate that your article acknowledges that more than half of Palestinians killed by Israel are women and children, I am disappointed by the assertion that the Gaza Health Ministry “does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.”
The claim that the Ministry of Health "does not distinguish between combatants and civilians" is misleading and gives the impression that most Palestinians killed by Israel are combatants when, in fact, the overwhelming majority are civilians. For over a year, Israel has been systematically targeting civilian infrastructure in occupied Gaza, falsely justifying these attacks by claiming that Hamas leaders are concealing weapons—a narrative the resistance has consistently denied.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) relies on the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH) and makes clear distinctions between men, women, children, and the elderly in its reports. Below is a graph from UNOCHA, last updated on November 19th, confirming that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians killed by Israel’s genocidal campaign in occupied Gaza are women, children, and the elderly. Israeli military claims about Palestinian fighters killed in Gaza also demonstrate that the majority of Palestinians killed are civilians.
Furthermore, recent estimates by The Lancet Medical Journal suggest that the true number of deaths in occupied Gaza, including indirect fatalities, could be four times higher than the current count due to those who have perished under rubble, from burns, or due to Israel’s deliberate dismantling of Gaza’s infrastructure.
Therefore, Gaza’s Health Ministry does categorize casualties by gender and age, identifying women, children, and the elderly as civilians—contrary to the implication that it conflates all casualties with militants.
To more accurately describe the death toll resulting from Israel's genocide in occupied Gaza, I recommend that the sentence in the article be amended to read: “The death toll from Israel’s campaign in occupied Gaza has passed 44,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which reports that the majority of Palestinians killed are women and children. Recent estimates suggest the true toll is considerably higher.”
While a subtle change, this adjustment would more accurately represent the Palestinian death toll helps to prevent the narrative from being misconstrued.
I trust that the necessary corrections will be made to ensure fair and accurate reporting.
I look forward to your response.
Warmest regards,
Lynn Naji
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East