Israel has long claimed inaccuracy in the total number of civilian fatalities in Gaza, as the World Health Organization confidently defends death toll figures.
On Tuesday, the WHO stated that they are getting closer to confirming the scale of losses following allegations presented by Israel over a change in the numbers.
Last week, Gaza's health ministry revealed that the total number of fatalities has been approximately 35,000 since October 7, and that about 25,000 of those have so far been fully identified, of whom more than half were women and children.
Israel's accusations stem from previous estimates made by Palestinian authorities that more than 70% of Palestinians killed were women and children; however, UN agencies have republished the Palestinian figures, which have since risen above 35,000, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"Nothing wrong with the data; the overall data (more than 35,000) is still the same,"WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier disclosed at a at a Geneva press briefing.
"The fact we now have 25,000 identified people is a step forward," Lindmeier told the Geneva press.
He added that it's "normal" for death tolls to shift in conflicts, highlighting Israel's revision of its own death toll from the October 7 Hamas attacks to 1,200 after checks, according the Jerusalem Post.
"We're basically talking about 35,000 people who are dead, and really every life matters, doesn't it?" said Liz Throssel, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, at the same press briefing.
"And we know that many and many of those are women and children, and there are 1,000s missing under the rubble."
