"410 children"

On the day that Israel declared a cease fire in Gaza, AFP quoted Palestinian "medical sources" - meaning the Ministry of Health - as saying that there were 1188 dead, including 410 children.

On that same day, Ma'an quoted a figure of 1205 killed - including 410 children.

And on January 19th, two days later, the Palestinian Ministry of Health was quoted by the UN and WHO as saying there were about 1300 deaths - including 410 children.

By February 1, the Arab press was saying that there were 1400 deaths - including 410 children.

It is truly amazing that during the cease fire, the ridiculous sources that reporters uncritically used raised the death toll by over 200 and no one noticed - and they also didn't notice that the children and women dead stayed the same.

I started researching this bizarre "410 children" figure when I saw it quoted as fact by the rabidly anti-Zionist Philip Weiss in his blog, today, even when the MoH figures have been proven to be absurd. Even if you don't accept the IDF figures of 300 total women and children (counting children as under 16, not under 18), the PCHR said that the number of children killed was 280 and at least tries to back up that number.

But why let facts get in the way of insane hate?