KUALA LUMPUR: Former two-time prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today alleges that the reported deaths of 1,400 Israelis were fabricated by Israel to validate the killing of thousands of Palestinians.
He pointed to a lack of evidence regarding destroyed buildings and the absence of any pictures of the purported deceased Israelis.
Dr Mahathir said that it was generally believed that Hamas launched a rocket attack against Israel which led to 1,400 Israelis being killed while some were held captive by Hamas on Oct 7.
"But we get to see nothing of the 1,400 Israelis killed on the first day. We do not see on TV or still pictures of the 1,400 dead Israelis.
"We do not get to see the buildings which had been rocketed by Hamas. And we see none of the 25 Israeli soldiers who have been killed.
"1,400 dead bodies is a big number. Surely we should be able to see the dead bodies after the rocket explosion. Surely the Israeli press would show the damage to buildings etc. Maybe there were. Maybe the Israelis do not want to show what Hamas had done," added Dr Mahathir.
He highlighted that since that day, there have been no more Israeli killings by Hamas.
However, he noted that daily, more than 100 Palestinians are killed by Israeli bombs and rockets. As of now, the total number of Palestinians killed is estimated to be 15,000.
"Al Jazeera shows the Palestinians carrying dead and wounded people to hospitals. Ambulances scuttled between hospitals and streets littered with collapsed buildings.
"Rescue workers worked continuously day and night. And off and on we see flames mushrooming as bombs and rockets explode and burning buildings collapsing," stated the former prime minister in an X (previously Twitter) posting.
He further elaborated on Israel's actions, which included invading Gaza City, entering damaged houses under the pretext of searching for Hamas members.
This extended to the extreme of entering Al-Shifa Hospital, supposedly searching for the command centre of Hamas or hostages.
Despite no reports of armed Palestinians engaging in fighting, Israel claimed that 25 of its soldiers were killed by Palestinians.
Dr Mahathir repeatedly cast doubt on the legitimacy of the reported Israeli casualties.
"Can it be that 1,400 Israelis were not killed? That it was a hoax; that Israel manufactured this lie to justify killing thousands of Palestinians, to justify invading Gaza and imposing Israeli rule over it. Think."