Joe Biden Dismissing Gaza Death Toll Sparks Fury

President Joe Biden has sparked fury on social media after he expressed "no confidence" in the reported Palestinian death count in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Biden made the remarks during a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday when a reporter asked about the reported death toll.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza.

As of Wednesday, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 5,791 people have been killed, according figures cited by the Associated Press (AP), which noted that it could not independently verify the death toll.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed since October 7, according to the AP, citing Israeli authorities. In the West Bank, 96 Palestinians had been killed as of Wednesday, the AP says. The West Bank is not controlled by Hamas and the Health Ministry there is run by the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority.

Biden appeared to cast doubt on the Gaza Health Ministry's death toll on Wednesday when he was asked if the reported deaths in Gaza suggest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not trying to minimize civilian casualties.

"What they say to me is I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I'm sure innocents have been killed, and it's the price of waging a war," Biden said.

The president added that the Israelis "should be incredibly careful to be sure that they're focusing on going after the folks that [are] propagating this war against Israel. And it's against their interest when that doesn't happen."

"But I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using," Biden said.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email for comment.

Biden's remarks were met with anger by many on social media on Wednesday.

"As the death toll mounts in Gaza, Biden says 'I have no notion if Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,'" Mohammed El-Kurd, Palestine Correspondent at The Nation, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"This isn't just racist. He's preemptively minimizing the scale of death the Israeli regime has planned for Gaza," he added.

Max Blumenthal, editor of far-left news website and blog The Grayzone, wrote: "Joe Biden, who was manipulated by Netanyahu into claiming he saw photos of beheaded Israeli babies that didn't exist, now says he's 'not confident' the Palestinian death toll is as high as they say it is."

Blumenthal was referring to Biden's claim earlier this month that he had seen pictures of beheaded children following the Hamas attack on Israel. The White House later walked back that claim and two senior officials told NBC News that Biden was referring to reports from Israel and cited several media reports.

X user Mohammed wrote on Wednesday: "with biden denying the palestinian death toll today, i hope anyone lecturing others about 'b-but trump!' understands that it means nothing to me. they are the same and you're too ashamed to admit it. genocide joe or trump being president has no distinct difference at this point."

"Now this is just rich," wrote X user Abelard Lormond. "Joe Biden is claiming that Palestinians are lying about the death toll in Gaza."

"He's been feeding into all of the lies coming from Netanyahu and Israel but Palestinians are lying?" the user added as part of a longer post criticizing the president.

However, some appeared to support Biden's questioning of the death toll figures coming from the Gaza Health Ministry.

Guy Benson, a Fox News contributor and political editor at Townhall.com, quoted the president approvingly.

"A reporter just asked President Biden about the death toll in Gaza, citing Hamas statistics, inviting him to criticize Israel. Biden: 'I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using,'" Benson wrote on X.

"THANK YOU," Benson added.

Tech columnist Hillel Fuld also highlighted Biden's comments, writing: "Amazing that this even needs to be said but apparently common sense isn't so common anymore."

Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, wrote on X: "If there were any doubts regarding the affiliation of the Gaza Ministry of Health with Hamas, when asked about the death counts provided, President Biden @POTUS stated, 'I do not trust the numbers provided by the Palestinians.'"

X user The Mossad, which describes itself as a satirical account that is "forgoing the satire to share real, up to date information" during the conflict, shared a clip of Biden's remark and appeared to criticize the Hamas-controlled health ministry.

"Biden on death toll reported by the Gaza ministry of Hamas Health : 'I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using,'" they wrote.

Figures for deaths in Gaza are provided by the Hamas-run Health Ministry and it is not possible for media outlets or organizations like the United Nations to independently verify the number of deaths. Gaza has been closed to journalists since October 7

However, Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, told The Washington Post on Tuesday: "Everyone uses the figures from the Gaza Health Ministry because those are generally proven to be reliable."

"In the times in which we have done our own verification of numbers for particular strikes, I'm not aware of any time which there's been some major discrepancy," Shakir said.

Update 10/26/23, 8.18 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include more reactions to President Biden's remarks.

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