The Biden administration is facing increased calls to halt its weapons sales to Israel, after a letter recently published in a top British medical journal warned that the human toll from the ongoing offensive in Gaza is far worse than anticipated.
The Lancet, a medical journal that says it takes a neutral position regarding territorial claims, published a letter on July 5 by three public health scholars titled, “Counting the dead in Gaza: difficult but essential.”
The Hamas-affiliated Gaza Health Ministry, which has counted the dead at roughly 38,000, is widely regarded by both apolitical experts and political leaders as a credible source, even as it faces hurdles due to the destruction of infrastructure.
Citing that number, the letter’s authors say that, “applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death, … it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.”
If that…