The question of how many people have died in Gaza since Israel began a bombing and ground campaign in response to Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack has taken on renewed urgency as President Biden tries to forestall a full assault by Israel against Hamas’ leadership and remaining battalions into the densely-populated city of Rafah.

Israeli occupation forces have continued their relentless assault on the Gaza Strip for the 224th consecutive day.

Amid social media claims to the contrary, U.N. spokesperson Faran Haq said there had been no change in the number of fatalities.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip from the Israel-Hamas war is still more than 35,000, but the enclave's Ministry of Health has updated its breakdown of the fatalities, the United Nations said on Monday after Israel questioned a sudden change in numbers.

Israel for the first time has released its estimate of how many civilians it believes have died during fighting against Hamas inside the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian health authorities say Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 people, mostly civilians, and driven most of the enclave's 2.3 million people from their homes.

The death toll in Gaza has not been revised down, the United Nations confirmed, clearing up a report from one of its agencies that has been used to fuel misinformation about the veracity of the Gaza Ministry of Health's figures.

The World Health Organization voiced full confidence in Gaza Ministry of Health death toll figures on Tuesday, saying they were actually getting closer to confirming the scale of losses after Israel questioned a change in the numbers.

Revised data from the health ministry turned into a debate about the war’s human cost. That death toll remains devastating.