The Lie

• Since October 7, Israel has killed hundreds of thousands of Gazans in a genocide.

The Truth

• The majority of Gazan casualties are Hamas terrorists, with the total number of casualties in Gaza in the tens of thousands. There is no evidence of genocide or of hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Background

• On December 29, 2025, Emma Vigeland claimed on CNN NewsNight that she was told by a “doctor” that “hundreds of thousands” of Gazans have died, with many buried under rubble. (X)
• She further claimed that Israeli forces are targeting civilians as part of a genocide, rather than prosecuting a war Hamas initiated on October 7, 2023.
• To support her genocide claim, Vigeland cited accusations made by the far-left Israeli agitator group B’Tselem.

Truth Explained:

• B’Tselem—the organization Vigeland cited as “proof” of a genocide—has repeatedly advocated for the destruction of Israel. It is heavily funded by foreign governments and entities, including George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and routinely amplifies Hamas propaganda, including demonstrably false claims that Israel is deliberately starving Gazans. (NGO Monitor), (Charlie Kirk), (ITN), (Gatestone Institute)
• Even Hamas—known for inflating casualty figures—has not claimed hundreds of thousands of Gazans dead. In its December 2025 manifesto, Hamas reported 67,100 total deaths, including 20,000 children, with an additional 9,500 listed as missing or allegedly trapped under rubble. (Hamas)
• Hamas’s figures include more than 25,000 terrorists killed. It is unclear how many of the 9,500 listed as missing are combatants versus civilians. (Honest Reporting)
• Hamas’s “child” casualty counts include combatants aged 15–18, a demographic Hamas routinely recruits for terror. (UN), (TOI)
• Hamas casualty reporting is notoriously exaggerated and unreliable. Its Ministry of Health classifies all deaths as “civilians,” routinely mislabels adult males as women or children, and includes deaths caused by Hamas itself or by natural causes. It has also altered, deleted, and recategorized data repeatedly throughout the war. (Henry Jackson Society)
• Based on pre-war mortality patterns, an estimated 11,000 Gazan deaths during the conflict were from natural causes; roughly 4,000 resulted from internal Gazan violence, including executions of alleged collaborators; and approximately 1,000 deaths stem from reporting errors or misclassification. That leaves roughly 50,000 deaths. (Honest Reporting)
• Even if Hamas’s exaggerated figures are accepted at face value, the civilian-to-combatant ratio remains extraordinarily low. With roughly 67,000 claimed deaths and over 22,000 terrorists killed, the ratio is approximately 2:1—far below the UN’s estimated 9:1 global average for urban warfare. No genocide would produce such a ratio. (UN), (Times of Israel)
• The IDF employs extensive warning measures prior to strikes, including phone calls, text messages, leaflet drops, and “roof knocking” using non-lethal munitions. Civilians caught under rubble are likely to have ignored evacuation warnings. (IDF)
• Polling shows that the majority of Gazans supported the October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians and continue to support Hamas’s war against Israel. Actual victims of genocide do not rally behind those waging war in their name. (Hamas)
• Hamas itself claims that Gazans achieved victory over the Israeli army and “forced” it to stop the war—an implausible assertion for a population allegedly being exterminated. (Hamas)

Quotes:

• “Not a single word in your speech for the atrocities that were committed on October the 7th. Not a single word for the idea that Israel has every right to defend itself. Not a single word for the fact that Hamas right now is killing people inside of Gaza, their own people. You seem to lay it all at the feet of Israel – a democratic ally – and your own country, and you have no word for the terrorists who raped and murdered and kidnapped. Zero! None!” — Scott Jennings, responding to Emma Vigeland
• “I don’t trust any of the [Gazan casualty] numbers of the international community. But if it was really their goal to kill as many people in Gaza as possible, why doesn’t Israel just bomb and kill them all right now?” — Charlie Kirk

Takeaway:

Claims of Israeli genocide in Gaza have been repeatedly debunked. Even Hamas’s own inflated figures show far fewer civilian deaths than alleged, a low civilian-to-combatant ratio, and continued Gazan support for attacks on Israel—contradicting the narrative of a population being systematically exterminated. Emma Vigeland’s outrageous claims surpass even Hamas’s propaganda and bear no relation to reality.