Barbara Leaf, a senior Biden administration official said the death toll in the Gaza Strip is possibly significantly “higher than is being cited” — marking a U-turn in what critics called US policy to underplay the deaths. .
Previously, President Biden and other pro-Israel Congress members questioned the death toll reported by the Health Ministry in Gaza, deeming it an exaggeration and doubting their accuracy as they allegedly operate under Hamas.
“In this period of conflict and conditions of war, it is very difficult for any of us to assess what the rate of casualties are,” she said on Wednesday during the hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “We think they’re very high, frankly, and it could be that they’re even higher than are being cited.”
“We’ll know only after the guns fall silent. We take in sourcing from a variety of folks who are on the ground,” she added. “I can’t stipulate to one figure or another, it’s very possible they’re even higher than is being reported.”
Leaf, however, sided with Biden’s decision to hold back on pressuring Israel to a cease-fire as the administration is urging Israel to agree to humanitarian pauses for recovery of some captives, exit of foreign nationals, and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
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