Israeli journalist: No evidence of Hamas beheading babies

Israel-based journalist and MEE contributor Oren Ziv says that there is no evidence to show that Hamas beheaded babies. 

In news reports, Israeli broadcaster I24 and The Jewish Chronicle said that up to 40 Israeli babies were found murdered, some beheaded. The news was picked up by international media, making headlines in many news outlets.

However, Ziv, who was on the tour with other journalists, said there was no evidence of this, and the army spokesperson or commanders also didn’t mention any such incidents.

“During the tour, journalists were allowed to speak to the hundreds of soldiers on site, without the supervision of the army's spokesperson team. I24 reporter said she heard it from soldiers,” Ziv said in a series of online posts. 

“Soldiers I spoke with in Kfar Aza yesterday didn't mention 'beheaded babies'. The army's spokesperson stated: 'We can not confirm at this point… we are aware of the heinous acts Hamas is capable of,'” he added.

Marc Owen Jones, a disinformation and digital media expert, said that the unconfirmed report about 40 murdered babies had at least 44 million impressions, 300k likes, over 100k reposts, despite the fact the original report never claimed 40 babies were decapitated.