UN believes 40,000 Gaza death toll may be 'undercount'

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Thursday emphasized that the death toll in the Gaza Strip “is an approximation,” and the number may be "an undercount."

Asked about UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk's statement on the death toll officially exceeding 40,000, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters at a news conference that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shares Turk’s concerns.

"Given the large number and disturbing number of people who remain unaccounted for, who may be trapped or dead under the rubble, this number may, if anything, be an undercount."

Saying the number of dead in Gaza likely surpassed the 40,000 mark "probably weeks or months ago," Haq said: "From the secretary-general's standpoint, this is yet another reason why we need to have a cease-fire."

On Thursday, Turk condemned Israel's violence in Gaza and said nearly 130 victims have died daily since Oct. 7.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed more than 40,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,400 others, according to local health authorities.

Over 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.