Ministers should not rely on Hamas death toll in Gaza, MPs warn

More than 32,000 Palestinians were killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Photo: SOPA

Ministers should not rely on Gaza's Hamas death toll, MPs have warned, calling on the statistical office to investigate.

The government must rethink its approach as it is “absolutely clear that Hamas cannot considered as a reliable source”, UK This was reported by the Statistics Office.

Sir Michael Ellis MP, former Attorney General, and Andrew Percy MP wrote to the statistics watchdog to express their concerns about the use of such figures by UK officials.

In a letter to Sir Robert Choate, Chairman The UK's Office of Statistics say that «the total loss of life in conflict is a tragedy and should be deeply regretted.»

But they add that it is important that «His Majesty's Government and its departments are aware of the fact that in an ongoing conflict, disinformation can be deliberately used to secure greater diplomatic and financial support for one of the combatants in the conflict.»< /p>

MPs they say this is «particularly relevant when the information comes through a designated terrorist organization that is banned as such in the United Kingdom.»

“It is generally accepted that Hamas controls the so-called “Ministry of Health” in the Gaza Strip, from which disinformation is regularly disseminated, and Hamas’ motivation to spread hatred and terror against the Jewish people and the State of Israel is well known and openly documented.

'Primary importance'

They say it is 'extremely important' that the government, the opposition as well as the major media in the UK 'do not depend on this, apparently an unreliable source of propaganda repeating unsubstantiated claims from one side in the ongoing conflict.»

MPs cite a leading US statistician, Professor Abraham Weiner, an expert in statistics and data analysis at the University of Pennsylvania, who recently questioned casualty and mortality figures released by the Hamas-run health ministry.

Professor In a recent report Weiner noted that it is «likely» that the numbers released by the department are based on «arbitrary totals,» adding: «We know this because the daily totals are rising too constantly to be real.»

Mr Ellis and Mr Percy say they are «concerned» that the Government, as well as Labor, are «relying on inaccurate figures, which is damaging public discourse at a time of heightened tensions and is contrary to the UK's national interests».

UK Statistics said it had received the letter and would respond in due course.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed and more during the current Gaza conflict 74,000 people were injured.

The terror group's figures are unverified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Israel said it has killed about 13,000 Hamas members in fighting in the Gaza Strip, as well as about 1,000 killed inside Israel after the invasion and terror massacre groups on October 7.

Israel insists it is only bombing military targets in Gaza. Gaza says it is doing everything possible to minimize civilian casualties. They defend their air campaign as a legitimate response to Hamas attacks on civilians.

Sunak's statistics refute

Earlier this year, Rishi Sunak was rebuked by the statistics office for his claim that he had cleared a backlog of claims asylum.

In January, the Home Office said it had cleared an «outdated» backlog of 92,000 applications submitted before July 2022.

The Prime Minister then wrote on social media that the «backlog of asylum decisions» had been cleared.

The watchdog said people may have felt «misled» by his language. Official figures show no decision has been made on 4,537 «inheritance» cases cited by the Home Office.

Sunak was also criticized by the statistics service last year after he said public debt sector is falling.

The Prime Minister said «the debt is falling» in a video posted to his Twitter account in November, and also told MPs said «we have actually reduced the debt» on the day of the autumn statement.

But statistically The service highlighted the fact that the national debt continues to rise and warned Mr Sunak he risks «undermining trust» in how the government uses data.