Researchers say Gaza death toll may be significantly higher than previously estimated

[Beastly Boy]

36. It was not an academic study.

Last edited Sun Jan 26, 2025, 02:21 AM - Edit history (2)

It was published online, as your link clearly states, not in a peer-reviewed journal.

Two of the three data "lists" used in the study, a Hamas Ministry of health survey and social media obituaries, are highly suspect with regard to their reliability. The third one, official hospital lists, have not been confirmed by independent sources.

The conclusion of the article clearly states the non-academic findings of this study as (educated?) opinions of its authors, and bares nodirect relationship to the analysis undertaken in the study. Furthermore, the authors state that the nature of their findings is not scientific, and is incomplete:

More fundamentally, our findings warrant immediate diplomatic initiatives to achieve an immediate and sustained cessation of hostilities and a lasting deal that includes the release of Israeli hostages and thousands of Palestinian civilians imprisoned by Israel. Just as in other settings, active investigation of potential war crimes committed seems important to affirm justice principles and hold perpetrators from all sides accountable. Quantitative analyses similar to ours have previously informed these investigations. We thus encourage the scientific community to supplement and improve on our work, while also extending it to other settings

(bolding mine)