U.N. cuts estimates of women, children deaths in Gaza war in half

WASHINGTON — The United Nations reduced estimates for the number of women and children killed during Israel’s war in Gaza by nearly half, inviting new scrutiny for figures from the militant group Hamas.

Of the 34,735 people who have died in Gaza since the war began, according to data published May 6 by the U.N., more than 9,500 were women and more than 14,500 were children.

But in updated data published two days later on May 8, the U.N. significantly reduced the figures to 4,959 women and 7,797 children among the 34,844 people reportedly killed in Gaza.

The U.N. cites data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, to produce casualty figures. The UN reports come with a disclaimer. In a statement to USA Today, U.N. spokeswoman Eri Kaneko said the Gaza Ministry of Health’s overall number of fatalities remain unchanged and cited the ministry’s April 30 update on the breakdown of the 24,686 fatalities for whom the ministry has complete details.

“According to the Ministry, the fatalities for whom full details have been documented include 7,797 children, 4,959 women, 1,924 elderly, and 10,006 men,” Kaneko said. “The Ministry of Health notes that the documentation process of casualties’ full identification details is ongoing.”