Israel amends death toll from Oct. 7 Hamas raid, says 200 fewer died than previously thought

The Israel Foreign Ministry has revised the estimated death toll from an Oct. 7 Hamas raid down by approximately 200.

During the attack, Hamas forces stormed Israeli border towns, seized roughly 200 hostages, and were previously thought to have killed a further 1,400 civilians. That figure, however, was amended on Thursday, according to ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat.

"Around 1,200 is the official number of victims of the October 7 massacre," Haiat told Reuters on Friday. That figure, however, remains unconfirmed and Haiat asserted it "is not a final number. It (is) an updated estimate. It might change when (they) identify all the bodies."

The raid prompted retaliatory strikes by the Israel Defense Forces, which have since entered the Gaza Strip in a bid to oust Hamas from power. The move has prompted fears of a wider war as cross-border strikes have since hit Syria and Lebanon.

Israel's strikes have prompted international concerns over the prospect of civilian casualties, including calls for an outright ceasefire. The White House on Thursday announced that Jerusalem had agreed to daily four-hour humanitarian pauses in Gaza during which the IDF would not conduct operations in certain areas.

The IDF resolutely denied that such an arrangement constituted a ceasefire, saying "[t]here is no ceasefire. There are tactical, local pauses for humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians. We are also providing humanitarian corridors for civilians in Gaza to temporarily move south to safer areas where they can receive humanitarian aid. Our war is with Hamas and not with the people of Gaza."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.