Denying Gaza's death toll doesn't stand up to scrutiny

Haaretz.com

Click here to subscribe to Haaretz.com

Categories: News Media Age: 7 until 13 year 14 until 18 year 19 until 30 year 31 until 64 years 65 and older

14 hours ago

Html
Text

Israel should help shape Syria. But it must do so carefully, quietly and quickly

Opinion Editor's Choice

View in browser

Molly Bernstein

As calls for a Gaza cease-fire continue both in Israel and abroad, critical voices are calling for a much more ambitious effort: To find a way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hiba Qasas of the Principles for Peace Foundation explains why now is the moment to move towards a comprehensive solution. Gilad Kariv, Ram Ben Barak and Alon Schuster, all members of Israel's Knesset, agree.
The story of MK Ayman Odeh demonstrates why this will be a difficult road. After calling for freedom for both Israelis and Palestinians, and for the freeing of both Palestinian prisoners and hostages held by Hamas, Odeh faced an attempt to oust him from the Knesset this week. Human rights lawyer Eitay Mack explains how Israel's treatment of Palestinian prisoners has been leveraged for political purposes by Israel's far right.
Haaretz has been the site of an impassioned debate about assessing the death toll in Gaza. After Nir Hasson wrote that the toll may stand at 100,000 dead, Professor Sergio DellaPergola submitted this response, which questioned the methodology used and suggested a much lower number. His article was rebutted this week by Professor Mike Spagat, an expert in calculating war deaths and author of the original pre-printed article cited by Hasson.
Moving outwards to the wider region, David Daoud of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies explains why Hezbollah sat out the Israel-Iran war. Former deputy national security advisor Chuck Freilich proposed a way forward for Israel with regards to Syria – although news today of a new bout of violence in the country and subsequent Israeli strikes on Syrian army targets may stymie such an undertaking. You can hear Chuck expand on his thoughts and concerns regarding Syria and Israel on the Haaretz podcast released today.
Finally, Dr Khinvraj Jangid, Israel Studies professor at Jindal Global University in India, explained how Iran's nuclear ambitions, once shared with New Delhi, diverged over time as a result of differing ideological motivations.