Factcheck: 'Israel' has no information on Hamas murdering babies

By Ali Halawi
Source: Anadolu Agency + News websites
11 Oct 2023 05:43
41 Shares

United States media outlets widely circulate information claiming Resistance fighters murdered 40 babies in "Kfar Aza", however, the facts say otherwise.

Emergency responders bring children wounded by an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip to al-Shifa hospital, Gaza, Palestine, on October 10, 2023. (AFP)

Israelis have no information regarding "Hamas beheading babies," an IOF spokesperson told Anadolu Agency, following widely circulated fake news on the matter.

The information went viral in Western media outlets and by officials who sought to defame the Palestinian Resistance by reporting on unverified information provided by "Israel's" i24 TV correspondent.

The correspondent in question is Nicole Zedeck. She was attached to a unit of the IOF that had been dispatched to the "Kfar Aza" kibbutz where fierce confrontations took place between Palestinian Resistance fighters and Israeli occupation forces and settlers since Saturday morning.

During her coverage, Zedeck claimed that the unit's commander had told her that 40 dead babies had been found in "Kfar Aza", some of which had been "beheaded by terrorists", she said referring to Palestinian Resistance fighters that crossed over the separation wall from Gaza to confront soldiers and settlers that have occupied their homeland for more than 75 years.

Zedeck then posted on X contradicting her claims, saying, "Soldiers told me they believe 40 babies/children were killed."

Zedeck did not present any evidence on what she was claiming, nor did she present a reliable source, as the source itself, which is Israeli soldiers, did not actually admit to seeing the alleged massacre.

Thus, what Zedeck presented as a given fact, was mere hearsay propagated with the absolute intention to condemn the Palestinian resistance and justify the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Soldiers told me they believe 40 babies/children were killed. The exact death toll is still unknown as the military continues to go house to house and find more Israeli casualties. https://t.co/PEGSFXgb9x
— Nicole Zedeck (@Nicole_Zedek) October 10, 2023

Western media defames Resistance

However, Zedeck's reporting was quickly picked up on by Fox News, CNN, and Business Insider all of which presented the claims as a fact, condemning Hamas for a crime it did not commit.

CNN published a news piece saying that "Hamas militants" had committed a "massacre" in "Kfar Aza" killing children and toddlers.

It said that it had contacted the IOF following the report streamed by the Israeli i24 TV.

Fox News made similar claims during a broadcast, saying that an Israeli occupation forces commander had found bodies of 40 babies some of whom had their heads cut off in "Kfar Aza".

Business Insider went out on a limb, writing an extensive piece building on the baseless claims made by Zedeck.

The news website failed to confirm information after contacting Major Nir Dinar, a spokesperson of the IOF, who did not provide any details on the matter.

Dinar himself said that he had not seen images or videos of such incidents himself, saying it was "soldiers on the ground who are there told me this."

Nonetheless, Business Insider found it fitting to title the piece, "IDF says Hamas fighters killed and decapitated babies at one kibbutz near the Gaza border."

Biden falls into the trap

US President Joe Biden said there are "reports of babies being killed," in a White House address meant to reiterate his administration's support for the Israeli occupation.

He called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, launched by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza, and the actions carried out during it as "sheer evil" while completely disregarding all the actions taken by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians.

"There are moments in this life - I mean this literally - when a pure unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world," he said during a speech from the White House. "This is an act of sheer evil."

Biden still failed to mention that the Israeli occupation was brutally killing civilians, using white phosphorus, and bombing religious sites and schools where people typically seek refuge in times of war.

Ritchie Torress, a member of Congress representing New York, also posted on X saying, "The deplorables who cannot bring themselves to condemn the murder of babies as barbaric are revealing themselves to be nothing short of barbaric," reiterating statements made by Israeli officials who demonized Palestinians describing them as barbaric and animals.

Palestinian children murdered in cold blood

Mainstream Western media and US politicians remain absent-minded to the extensive crimes carried out by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians and civilians, specifically children in the region.

As of September 19, the occupation holds 170 Palestinian children in captivity among 5,200 others, whose liberation is the main target of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

Moreover, at least 260 Palestinian children have been murdered by Israeli bombs in just four days, in what can only be described as deliberate targeting of civilians by the Israeli occupation forces who have failed to push back against Resistance fighters on the battlefield.