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Coordinates: 31°29′1″N 34°32′2″E / 31.48361°N 34.53389°E / 31.48361; 34.53389
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A claim that a number of babies were decapitated was also made by Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]'s spokesperson, and the most high-profile claim was repeated by US President [[Joe Biden]], who claimed to have seen photographic evidence for it.<ref>{{cite news |last=Joshi |first=Joy |date=13 October 2023 |title=Israel-Hamas war: How the unverified claim about beheaded babies spread — ‘Same misinformation, different war’ |work=[[Yahoo! News|Yahoo! News Canada]] |url=https://news.yahoo.com/israel-hamas-war-unverified-claim-beheaded-babies-misinformation-214727885.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall}}</ref><ref name="Intercept=11102">{{cite news |last=Speri |first=Alice |date=11 October 2023 |title=“Beheaded babies” report spread wide and fast — but israel military won’t confirm it |work=[[The Intercept]] |publisher= |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/10/11/israel-hamas-disinformation/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014064017/https://theintercept.com/2023/10/11/israel-hamas-disinformation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The White House later denied Biden had seen photographic images, and clarified that he was referring to media reports and statements by Netanyahu.<ref name="NBCnews" /><ref name="Intercept=11102" />
A claim that a number of babies were decapitated was also made by Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]'s spokesperson, and the most high-profile claim was repeated by US President [[Joe Biden]], who claimed to have seen photographic evidence for it.<ref>{{cite news |last=Joshi |first=Joy |date=13 October 2023 |title=Israel-Hamas war: How the unverified claim about beheaded babies spread — ‘Same misinformation, different war’ |work=[[Yahoo! News|Yahoo! News Canada]] |url=https://news.yahoo.com/israel-hamas-war-unverified-claim-beheaded-babies-misinformation-214727885.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall}}</ref><ref name="Intercept=11102">{{cite news |last=Speri |first=Alice |date=11 October 2023 |title=“Beheaded babies” report spread wide and fast — but israel military won’t confirm it |work=[[The Intercept]] |publisher= |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/10/11/israel-hamas-disinformation/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014064017/https://theintercept.com/2023/10/11/israel-hamas-disinformation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The White House later denied Biden had seen photographic images, and clarified that he was referring to media reports and statements by Netanyahu.<ref name="NBCnews" /><ref name="Intercept=11102" />


Netanyahu's office released photos of dead babies, saying they were killed and burned in the attack.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spiro |first=Amy |date=2023-10-12 |title=Netanyahu’s office releases horrifying images of infants murdered by Hamas |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-office-releases-horrifying-images-of-infants-murdered-by-hamas/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=[[Times of Israel]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The Jerusalem Post stated that these images confirmed that babies were decapitated,<ref name="jpost12oct">{{Cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-767951 |title=Photos of babies being burnt, decapitated confirmed |last=Joffre |first=Tzvi |date=12 October 2023 |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |access-date=13 October 2023 |publisher= |archive-date=13 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013045824/https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-767951 |url-status=live }}</ref> while NBC News stated that the claim could not be independently verified and that no photographic evidence that babies were decapitated was provided.<ref name="NBCnews" /> [[CNN]] reported that claims of beheading could not be confirmed.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Chance |first=Matthew |last2=Greene |first2=Richard Allen |last3=Berlinger |first3=Joshua |date=12 October 2023 |title=Israeli official says government cannot confirm babies were beheaded in Hamas attack |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/middleeast/israel-hamas-beheading-claims-intl/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012144119/https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/middleeast/israel-hamas-beheading-claims-intl/index.html |archive-date=12 October 2023 |access-date=12 October 2023 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref>
The IDF stated to ''[[Business Insider|Insider]]'' that they would not investigate the allegation further, citing that it would be "disrespectful for the dead" to do so.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zitser |first=Joshua |date=11 October 2023 |title=IDF says it won't back up its claim that Hamas decapitated babies in Israel because it is 'disrespectful for the dead'|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/idf-says-wont-back-up-beheaded-babies-disrespectful-2023-10 |access-date=12 October 2023 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US |archive-date=12 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012014817/https://www.businessinsider.com/idf-says-wont-back-up-beheaded-babies-disrespectful-2023-10 |url-status=live }}</ref> Netanyahu's office released photos of dead babies, saying they were killed and burned in the attack.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spiro |first=Amy |date=2023-10-12 |title=Netanyahu’s office releases horrifying images of infants murdered by Hamas |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-office-releases-horrifying-images-of-infants-murdered-by-hamas/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=[[Times of Israel]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The Jerusalem Post stated that these images confirmed that babies were decapitated,<ref name="jpost12oct">{{Cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-767951 |title=Photos of babies being burnt, decapitated confirmed |last=Joffre |first=Tzvi |date=12 October 2023 |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |access-date=13 October 2023 |publisher= |archive-date=13 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013045824/https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-767951 |url-status=live }}</ref> while NBC News stated that the claim could not be independently verified and that no photographic evidence that babies were decapitated was provided.<ref name="NBCnews" /> [[CNN]] reported that claims of beheading could not be confirmed.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Chance |first=Matthew |last2=Greene |first2=Richard Allen |last3=Berlinger |first3=Joshua |date=12 October 2023 |title=Israeli official says government cannot confirm babies were beheaded in Hamas attack |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/middleeast/israel-hamas-beheading-claims-intl/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012144119/https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/middleeast/israel-hamas-beheading-claims-intl/index.html |archive-date=12 October 2023 |access-date=12 October 2023 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref>


===Spread of disinformation===
===Spread of disinformation===

Revision as of 23:34, 14 October 2023

Kfar Aza massacre
Part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Kfar Aza is located in Israel
Kfar Aza
Kfar Aza
class=notpageimage|
Site of the attack in Israel
LocationKfar Aza, Southern District, Israel
Coordinates31°29′1″N 34°32′2″E / 31.48361°N 34.53389°E / 31.48361; 34.53389
Date7 October 2023; 13 months ago (2023-10-07)
Attack type
Mass shooting, mass murder, decapitation, dismemberment, immolation
Deaths>100 Israelis; exact total unknown
Perpetrator Hamas

On 7 October 2023, around 70 Hamas militants attacked Kfar Aza, a kibbutz about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from the border with the Gaza Strip, massacring residents and abducting several hostages.

The kibbutz had 400 residents prior to the attack, and it took two days for the Israel Defense Forces to wrest back full control of the community. Children, including babies, were reportedly killed during the attack.[1][2][3] While the exact total of Israelis killed is yet unknown, most estimates place the total number of Israeli dead at over 100.[4]

The attack was notable for its level of violence with beheadings,[1] dismemberment, and immolation reported, though there was controversy and disinformation regarding claims that babies had been decapitated.[2][5][6]

Massacre

Kefar Aza prior to the massacre

About 70 Hamas gunmen broke through a fence gaining access to the kibbutz on the morning of 7 October 2023.[7] After entering the kibbutz, which was 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from Gaza, the militants proceeded to massacre residents of the community.[7] The Islamist militants began their attack on the community by targeting the west side of the community—an area in the kibbutz close to Gaza where families with young children lived.[8][9] Most estimates place the total number of Israelis killed at over 100, though an exact death toll was not publicly known as of 13 October 2023.[4]

Members of the kibbutz with military training, who formed a volunteer armed guard, fought against invading militants in an attempt to defend the community.[9] All members of the kibbutz's volunteer armed guard were killed,[10] and militants broadened the attack to all four directions.[8] Invading militants burned houses and killed civilian residents.[11][12][13] Corpses of those who had lived in the community were found with their hands tied.[13]

In addition, the militants took hostages from the kibbutz,[14][15] with the Associated Press visually confirming four hostages that were abducted on 7 October.[16] Israeli Major General Itai Veruv described the massacre as a terror attack.[14]

Prior to the massacre, the community had 400 residents. It took the Israel Defense Forces two-and-a-half days to regain full control of the community after the initial attack.[9] The paratroopers of Unit 71 led the assault to retake the community,[10] and the Duvdevan Unit had also responded to the attack.[4]

Journalists were granted access to the site on 10 October 2023.[17][14] Hamas has also released video footage of the attack.[18]

Casualties

According to BBC News, it appears that most of the victims of the massacre died in the opening hours of the attack. As of 10 October 2023, soldiers were still going through the community to recover bodies.[19] Israeli soldiers in the town stated that several civilians had been beheaded.[10] Children and babies were reportedly among the killed.[1][2][3]

Allegations of beheadings

One member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who had responded to the site said in an interview with I24NEWS that 40 children had been killed, with some beheaded by Hamas.[20][17] CBS News later interviewed Yossi Landau, regional head of the first responder organization ZAKA, who claimed that both babies and minors had been beheaded alongside corpses of dismembered adults.[1]

A claim that a number of babies were decapitated was also made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson, and the most high-profile claim was repeated by US President Joe Biden, who claimed to have seen photographic evidence for it.[21][22] The White House later denied Biden had seen photographic images, and clarified that he was referring to media reports and statements by Netanyahu.[2][22]

The IDF stated to Insider that they would not investigate the allegation further, citing that it would be "disrespectful for the dead" to do so.[23] Netanyahu's office released photos of dead babies, saying they were killed and burned in the attack.[24] The Jerusalem Post stated that these images confirmed that babies were decapitated,[3] while NBC News stated that the claim could not be independently verified and that no photographic evidence that babies were decapitated was provided.[2] CNN reported that claims of beheading could not be confirmed.[6]

Spread of disinformation

See also: Disinformation in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

The claim that 40 babies had been decapitated gained widespread attention on social media, with over 40 million impressions on X (formerly Twitter), propagated by the Israeli website I24NEWS and the official Israel account. The claim made it to the frontpage news on almost a dozen British newspapers. NBC News stated that the claim was likely erroneous, and based on the conflation of two separate statements made by IDF soldiers.[2][25]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Williams, Holly; Lyall, Erin (11 October 2023). "Israel kibbutz the scene of a Hamas "massacre," first responders say: "The depravity of it is haunting" - CBS News". CBS News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Tenbarge, Kat; Chan, Melissa (12 October 2023). "Unverified reports of '40 babies beheaded' in Israel-Hamas war inflame social media". NBC News. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Joffre, Tzvi (12 October 2023). "Photos of babies being burnt, decapitated confirmed". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Spencer, Richard (13 October 2023). "They came at dawn: inside the Kfar Aza kibbutz massacre". The Times.
  5. ^ "What we actually know about the viral report of beheaded babies in Israel". Sky News. 12 October 2023. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b Chance, Matthew; Greene, Richard Allen; Berlinger, Joshua (12 October 2023). "Israeli official says government cannot confirm babies were beheaded in Hamas attack". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b Lubell, Maayan (10 October 2023). "Insight: How an Israeli kibbutz 'paradise' turned into hell in Hamas attack". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b Pfeffer, Anshel (10 October 2023). "Bitterness and fury at the kibbutz where babies had their throats cut". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Hendrix, Steve (10 October 2023). "Scenes from a massacre: Inside an Israeli town destroyed by Hamas". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Bowen, Jeremy (10 October 2023). "Inside Kfar Aza where Hamas militants killed families in their homes". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  11. ^ Hutchinson, Bill (10 October 2023). "Mom says sons snatched by Hamas while on the phone with her". ABC News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Smell of death fills Israeli kibbutz where civilians were slain". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  13. ^ a b Oliphant, Roland; Vasilyeva, Nataliya (10 October 2023). "Babies killed in Hamas attacks on kibbutz as death toll passes 1,000". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  14. ^ a b c Lubell, Maayan (10 October 2023). "Bodies of residents and militants lie in the grounds of ravaged Israeli kibbutz". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  15. ^ Logan, Nick (10 October 2023). "Why Hamas took so many people hostage — and how that complicates Israel's response". CBC News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  16. ^ Federman, Josef; Adwan, Issam (7 October 2023). "Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  17. ^ a b Berman, Lazar (10 October 2023). "'At least 40 babies killed': Foreign reporters taken to massacre site in Kfar Aza". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Israel-Hamas War: Video shows Hamas militants attack on Kfar Aza kibbutz". Sky News. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  19. ^ Emergui, Sal (10 October 2023). "Kfar Aza, el kibutz donde Hamas asesinó a 40 bebés". El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  20. ^ Zedek, Nicole (10 October 2023). "'It smells of death here': Surveying the atrocities committed by Hamas in Kfar Aza". i24 News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  21. ^ Joshi, Joy (13 October 2023). "Israel-Hamas war: How the unverified claim about beheaded babies spread — 'Same misinformation, different war'". Yahoo! News Canada.
  22. ^ a b Speri, Alice (11 October 2023). ""Beheaded babies" report spread wide and fast — but israel military won't confirm it". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  23. ^ Zitser, Joshua (11 October 2023). "IDF says it won't back up its claim that Hamas decapitated babies in Israel because it is 'disrespectful for the dead'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  24. ^ Spiro, Amy (12 October 2023). "Netanyahu's office releases horrifying images of infants murdered by Hamas". Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  25. ^ Solmaz, Mehmet; Calli, Enes (11 October 2023). "Despite refutations from Israeli military, headlines that Hamas 'beheaded babies' persist". Anadolu Agency. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023. Almost a dozen British newspapers — including The Times, Metro, The i, Daily Express, The Scotsman, and Financial Times — have run stories on their front pages Wednesday, citing the i24 claim
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