U.S. and international media outlets are repeating unsubstantiated claims that Palestinian fighters “beheaded” babies. These unverified assertions aren’t just sloppy journalism — they are being used to justify a massacre.
One story has been dominating the U.S. and international media cycle for the past 24 hours. It has been repeated by pro-Israel activists, Israeli government officials, reporters, and anchors throughout the U.S. media and even alluded to by the President. The thing is — this story has not been confirmed in any way. It appears to come from a single source with a history of espousing calls for genocidal violence against Palestinians.
You have probably heard the story that Hamas fighters beheaded 40 Israeli children in the Kfar Aza community near Gaza. This story can be traced back to an article by Bel Trew, a reporter for The Independent. Trew entered Kfar Aza on October 10, soon after the Israeli army, and reported on Twitter that gunfire erupted just as they arrived. She is told by a member of the Israeli military that children were beheaded, but the article notes, “The Independent did not see evidence of this.”
The military source of this claim is Major David Ben Zion. According to his Twitter bio, he is the Deputy Head of the settler leadership organization, the Samaria Regional Council, and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Fund for Israel, a quasi-governmental agency used to acquire land in Palestine that is then made available exclusively for use by the Israeli state.
In this video clip, Ben Zion speaks directly to the camera. He says the soldiers found children with their heads cut off. He is incorrectly named on-screen in the video but is correctly named in the description below the video on YouTube.
In addition to his role in settler leadership, Ben Zion has a history of calls to genocidal violence.
Earlier this year, Israeli settlers carried out a so-called “reprisal attack” on the Palestinian village of Huwwara after an unknown Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli settlers. As we reported at the time, Israeli settlers launched a ‘pogrom’ on the night of February 26, attacking Palestinian homes and property in Huwwara, Burin, and across the Nablus area, burning houses, cars, vandalizing property, and assaulting Palestinians.
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Is that just me or does anyone else not believe stuff like this any more in general? I mean “they are killing babies/kittens/puppies/…” kind of arguments or “We need to violate these basic human rights because of child abuse/rapists/terrorists/…” kind of arguments in political discussions.
Classic dehumanization playbook
Hamas just killed a massive number of civilians. How is it unbelievable that they might layer another bit of brutality on top of that?
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Okay, first, there’s a critical distinguishing factor: Israel is acting with disregard to the lives of civilians. Hamas specifically targeted civilians. I’m sure there are some soldiers that would absolutely do that if given the chance, but the IDF seems to be more interested in long range strikes where this particular action just isn’t possible.
Second, I’m not necessarily saying that Hamas did this particular act. I’m still hearing conflicting reports. But when you’ve already descended into the depravity of killing babies and other civilians then what’s a little more depravity? The claim should be approached with some skepticism, but given everything I know to be true I in turn don’t find it unbelievable that they did it.