Any death in war is tragic, especially civilian deaths. No one should make light of these losses. However, American foreign policy decisions appear to be increasingly driven by the rate of fatalities. It is, therefore, worthwhile to take a closer look at the numbers that may be less than they seem and not out of line with other cases of urban warfare.

Serious doubts have been raised concerning the credibility of the Gaza Ministry. //

The Israeli campaign in Gaza began as a response to the October 7 attack and its particular brutality. It is wrong, however, to view the Israeli fighting as a case of reciprocal brutality. On the contrary, the rate of civilian deaths is comparable to or lower than in other urban warfare settings. There are also indications that the civilian casualty rate is declining further. This evaluation of fatalities is not intended to minimize the real, tragic losses in Gaza. It is, however, grounds for the United States to refrain from making policy decisions based on misunderstood casualty rates or uninformed public debate.