Gaza casualties 'hard to deny,' conflict monitors say

Description

Independent monitors have welcomed reports that the IDF now agrees with Palestinian casualty figures after years of denials. But whether in Gaza, Ukraine or other war zones, accurately gauging casualties is rarely easy.

Subject

Lily Hamourtziadou, a war scholar at Birmingham City University in the UK, has spent two decades recording casualties, first for Iraq Body Count and later for other British monitors. 

She said it was a surprise that the IDF had reportedly agreed with Gaza's casualty figures, given how rare it was for states in war to do so. 

"That is definitely a good thing," Hamourtziadou said. "But there could be a number of things [at play], it could be that they know there's a lot higher [casualty figure], so they're agreeing to a lower count."

She said it should not be exceptional that warring parties acknowledge their losses. Instead, accurate recording of the human impact of conflict is a responsibility Hamourtziadou said should lie with states.

"It is, I believe, every state's responsibility, if they are using aggression against any population, to collect data on who they're killing and why," Hamourtziadou said, "That, for me, is a more dignified approach."

Going beyond the numbers is rarely reflected in casualty reporting, but Hamourtziadou said even the simplest pieces of information — names and ages — can help expand not just the impact, but the story of conflict, where media and government reporting can often emphasize military losses over civilians.