5 ms·
Did you notice how there's a difference of 70,000 people between the low and high estimates for Hiroshima, despite the fact that there's been ample opportunity
by tdeck 2y ago
Did you notice how there's a difference of 70,000 people between the low and high estimates for Hiroshima, despite the fact that there's been ample opportunity to study the site and records during peacetime?
You're comparing a) the number of named, positively identified deceased people counted during an active conflict [1] where Gaza's healthcare system has been targeted on a daily basis with b) the final body count [2] from something that took place 79 years ago and has been studied by historians for decades. They're not comparable. In actual fact, fatality counts of Palestinians have been subjected to a standard far more stringent than anything applied during other ongoing conflicts, at least in "western" media.
It will probably be a decade before anyone is able to dig up the mass graves, sort through the rubble, interview families (that haven't been entirely wiped out), and come to a more complete list, and even then there will be a large number of unidentified deaths and the estimate will be a range.
[1] Really the word "conflict" is inappropriate here, because most of what's taking place is attacks on Palestinian civilian. The actual military conflict appears to be only a small percentage of the overall violence.
[2] Incidentally, both the high and low estimates for Hiroshima deaths also include people who died from the after-effects of the bombing, not just people who died during the attack itself.