A post shared on X claims that 30,000 civilians have been killed by Israel.

If Russia is banned from Eurovision for murdering 11,000 civilians over the last 2 years in Ukraine, why isn’t shouldnt Israel be banned for killing over 30,000 civilians in the last 6 months?

— She Guevara (@No7Sammy) May 10, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

10,000 civilians are the minimum amount of civilians verified killed in the Russian-Ukrainian war. While the Gaza Ministry of Health has claimed 34,000 people have died, they do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Fact Check:

Israeli singer Eden Golan advanced to the Eurovision Grand Final, which is May 11, according to the Times of Israel. There have been protests against Golan’s participation in the contest due to the war in Gaza, the outlet reported.

Social media users are claiming that Russia killed 11,000 civilians while Israel has killed 34,000 civilians. One user wrote, “If Russia is banned from Eurovision for murdering 11,000 civilians over the last 2 years in Ukraine, why isn’t shouldnt Israel be banned for killing over 30,000 civilians in the last 6 months?”

This claim is misleading for two reasons. The first is that the 11,000 number is about civilian deaths verified by the United Nations. The United Nations Human Rights Office of High Commissioner has found that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has killed at least 10,582 civilians between February 22, 2022 and February 2024, though notes that the “actual numbers are likely significantly higher.”  (RELATED: Claims Of Mass IDF Casualties Lack Evidence)

Check Your Fact previously reported in November 2023:

Ukrainian officials also have far higher estimates for civilian casualties than what the UN has verified. Ukrainian officials estimated that at least 25,000 civilians died during the Siege of Mariupol, which lasted from February 2022 to May 2022, according to BBC News. Ukraine’s chief prosecutor told the Independent in February 2023 that there “could be 100,000 civilians killed across Ukraine.”

A December 2022 Associated Press analysis found “the death toll” in Mariupol “might run three times higher than an early estimate of at least 25,000.” Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in June 2022 that “OHCHR has verified 1,348 individual civilian deaths directly in hostilities in Mariupol, including 70 children.”

“The actual death toll of hostilities on civilians is likely thousands higher,” Bachelet said at the time.

U.S. officials told Fox News in May 2023 that 42,000 Ukrainian civilians had died since Russia invaded in February 2022.

The Gaza Ministry of Health has claimed that 34,943 people have died in Gaza, according to AFP. These numbers are not verified by the United Nations, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“The UN has so far not been able to produce independent, comprehensive, and verified casualty figures; the current numbers have been provided by the Ministry of Health or the Government Media Office in Gaza and the Israeli authorities and await further verification. Other yet-to-be verified figures are also sourced.

The Associated Press explained in a Nov. 6, 2023 article that the “ministry never distinguishes between civilians and combatants.”

There are varying claims about the amount of Hamas militants killed during the war. A Hamas official told Reuters in February 2024 that the terrorist group had estimated that 6,000 of its fighters have died, though another Hamas official refuted this number to BBC News.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported in February 2024 “Hamas leaders in Gaza have told Egyptian officials and the group’s political wing in exile” that the military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, has lost at least 6,000 fighters. Israel has claimed to have killed at least 12,000 Hamas fighters, while “U.S. and Egyptian intelligence officials believe the true losses are roughly in the middle,” according to the WSJ.