The Pentagon has quickly walked back an assertion Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made before the House Armed Services Committee that “over 25,000” women and children have been killed in Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza.
In a statement, a Pentagon spokesperson clarified that the figure Austin offered was based on unconfirmed figures from the Gaza Health Ministry and included all deaths.
“We cannot independently verify these Gaza casualty figures,” spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.
ADVERTISEMENT
On Thursday, Austin replied after being specifically asked how many women and children have been killed by Israel during the war.
Last week, the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights warned that the transfer of weapons to Israel could constitute a violation of international humanitarian law. The United States has sent an estimated 21,000 precision guided munitions to Israel since Oct. 7.
Israel Defense Force soldiers open fired on Palestinian refugees as they gathered to receive food aid in Gaza City, on Thursday. The IDF deflected blame for the 104 people killed in this incident, claiming that they were killed from “overcrowding,” in a post on X.
Last week, the UNRWA said that it had been unable to deliver food to the North, where Gaza City is located, for at least a month.
Several countries, including the United States have paused funding to the UNRWA after Israel-backed allegations surfaced claiming that six UNRWA employees had participated in the Oct. 7 massacre. According to the U.N. a quarter of Gaza’s population of 2.3. million people are currently facing starvation.
