An Israeli human rights group says many more Palestinian civilians were killed in the Israeli military’s campaign in Gaza than the army admits.
B’Tselem said detailed research with careful cross-checking showed 1,387 Palestinians died, over half of them civilians and 252 of them children.
This contradicts an Israeli army report stating fewer than 300 civilians died in fighting in December and January.
Israel launched the assault to halt rocket attacks from Hamas-run Gaza.
The overall B’Tselem total broadly tallies with the official Palestinian death toll and the findings of other non-governmental organisations, although the proportion of civilians it identifies is lower.
