A senior US Congress official has said the number of deaths in Gaza from Israeli bombardment could be “even higher than are being cited”, New York Times reports.

The Palestinian death toll, while difficult to assess accurately, was “very high, frankly — and it could be that they’re even higher than are being cited,” said Barbara Leaf, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, before the House Committee on Foreign Relations.

“We will know only after the guns fall silent,” she added.

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