UPDATE 2 - Biden says he is sure civilians killed in Israeli strikes, disputes official toll given in Gaza

ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is sure Israeli strikes in the besieged Gaza Strip have resulted in civilian casualties, but sought to cast doubt on the official toll from Gaza's Health Ministry.

"I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I'm sure innocents have been killed," Biden said in response to a question about the civilian death toll in the more than two weeks since Israel began its bombardment of the coastal enclave.

"It's the price of waging a war," he said. "I think the Israelis should be incredibly careful to be sure that they're focusing on going after the folks that are propagating this war against Israel. And it's against their interests when that doesn't happen. But I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using," he added.

The comments come one day after a spokesperson for Biden's National Security Council offered a similar assessment of Gaza’s Health Ministry data due to its control by the Palestinian group, Hamas.

At least 6,546 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, the ministry reported Wednesday.

The toll put out by the Health Ministry has been consistently relied on by many media organizations, as well as the UN and rights groups, in part, because it has been accurate during past conflicts.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday, after National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby's remarks, that the ministry's figures are widely relied upon, because "they are seen as the best available." It pointed out that the State Department has cited the ministry's data in the past.

"Many experts consider figures provided by the ministry reliable, given its access, sources and accuracy in past statements," according to the Post.

It emphasized that Gaza has been closed to outside journalists since Oct. 7 when Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel that killed at least 1,400 Israelis.

Journalists who continue to work in the enclave are facing extreme dangers in carrying out their duties, including reporting from the scene of Israeli airstrikes.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Gaza-based journalists "face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict in the face of a ground assault by Israeli troops, devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, and extensive power outages."

It counted 24 journalists who have been killed since Oct. 7, including 20 Palestinians, three Israelis and one Lebanese. Nearly all of the Palestinians were killed in confirmed Israeli airstrikes or by Israeli gunfire, according to the CPJ.

Only one Gaza-based journalist, Abdulhadi Habib, was killed in an Oct. 16 missile strike that was not attributed.

The CPJ told US-based National Public Radio (NPR) that its tally is likely an undercount. It has nonetheless surpassed the 13 journalists who the CPJ confirmed were killed during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s.

"This is unprecedented," CPJ's emergencies director, Lucy Westcott, said in an interview with NPR. "Based on preliminary reporting, we've also estimated that 48 media facilities in Gaza have been hit or destroyed."

The wife and two children of Al Jazeera correspondent Wael al-Dahdouh were killed Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, said the Doha-based television station.

Biden said he has not requested that Israel delay its ground invasion of Gaza to secure the release of more hostages held by Hamas, but said he asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "If that's possible, to get these folks out safely, that's what he should do."

"It's their decision, but I did not demand it. I pointed out to him, if it's real, it should be done," he said.