An investigation by Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem claims far more civilians were killed during January's operation in the Gaza Strip than reported by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

B'Tselem's investigation discovered that the Israeli security forces killed 1387 people during operation Cast Lead, 773 of whom did not take part in the hostilities.
 

The IDF has reported a death toll of just over 1100; just under 300 of them were civilians. The human rights organisation has called on the Israeli government to launch an independent investigation into the three-week long assault on the Gaza Strip.
 

Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Leibovich dismissed B'Tselem's report, saying "the group does not have the tools nor the intelligence capabilities" to conduct such an investigation. According to the Colonel, the Israeli military conducted a thorough investigation that showed "the vast majority of casualties were Hamas militants".