In the midst of a heated dispute over the death toll figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, the United Nations (UN) has come forward to affirm the credibility of these numbers. The UN's endorsement comes in response to US President Joe Biden's skepticism regarding the accuracy of the local authorities' data.

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), emphasized that the figures provided by the Gaza Health Ministry have consistently been regarded as credible in the past conflicts. Lazzarini stated, "In the past, the five, six cycles of conflict in the Gaza Strip, these figures were considered as credible and no one ever really challenged these figures."

Biden's remarks, casting doubt on the credibility of the Palestinian death toll, have drawn criticism from Palestinian rights advocates. Currently, Israel has been conducting intensive air raids on Gaza while imposing a pervasive blockade that leaves residents without access to essential resources such as food, water, electricity, and fuel.

Yara Asi, a Palestinian American public health expert at the University of Central Florida, condemned the US President's comments, stating that disputing these figures only serves to further dehumanize Palestinians. The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that since Israel's bombardment of the region began after the October 7 attack by Hamas fighters, at least 7,326 Palestinians have been killed, and over 18,000 have been wounded. Israeli authorities claim that 1,400 people were killed in the attack.

Despite the ongoing dispute, the Gaza Health Ministry figures have been consistently referenced and relied upon by humanitarian groups, international organizations, news outlets, and branches of the US government. Numerous independent investigations have validated the accuracy of previous death tolls reported by the Health Ministry.

The Biden administration's State Department has relied on these figures for the past two weeks, displaying few concerns about their accuracy, according to a report by the Huffington Post. While the numbers may not be precisely accurate on a real-time basis, they largely reflect the level of death and injury, stated Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme.

The recent explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which has been attributed to both Israel and the armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), only intensifies the need for accurate data. Initially, health authorities reported around 500 deaths, which was later revised to 471. An unclassified US intelligence report suggested that the actual number of deaths may fall within the lower end of the estimated 100-to-300 spectrum.

The credibility of the Gaza Health Ministry's death toll figures remains in the spotlight as the conflict in the region continues. The UN's endorsement of their accuracy serves to defend the importance of transparent and reliable information in such tumultuous times.