Biden admin should check Hamas' Ministry of Health death stats, expert warns

The number of Gaza victims is likely far lower than Ministry of Health claims, while combatant-to-civilian deaths point to Israel’s concerted effort to reduce civilian casualties.

David Adesnik, senior fellow and director of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that the incompleteness of data entries for 10,152 victims in an earlier April 21 data set should be "a flashing red light" for onlookers who have previously trusted ministry calculations of the death toll in Gaza. "Ask the intelligence community to evaluate the data’s sources and accuracy" prior to citing Ministry of Health figures in the future. By late March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that 13,000 Hamas terrorists had been killed.  Biden shared the ministry’s data with a global audience without referencing its origin, noting that "more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas." Beth Bailey is a reporter covering Afghanistan, the Middle East, Asia, and Central America. She was formerly a civilian intelligence analyst with the Department of the Army. You can follow Beth on Twitter @BWBailey85

Adesnik has called on the Biden administration to "ask the intelligence community to evaluate the data’s sources and accuracy" prior to citing Ministry of Health figures in the future.