The 40 Beheaded Babies Rumour

On October 10, 2023, a rumour began circulating on social media claiming that “40 beheaded babies” had been discovered at Kibbutz Kfar Aza following the Hamas terror attacks on October 7.

This story emerged when the press was taken to Kfar Aza, where over 60 people had been murdered, to witness the devastation inflicted on the community just three days prior. Israeli i24NEWS correspondent Nicole Zedeck reported from the scene, mentioning claims of beheaded babies. Later that day, she posted on social media that it was believed that 40 babies and children had been killed.

These two unconfirmed reports quickly became conflated and exaggerated on social media, giving rise to the “40 beheaded babies” narrative.

As the day progressed, the i24NEWS report was cited by other media outlets, and an Israeli government spokesman referenced it in a press statement, despite the lack of confirmation. Other outlets urged caution, and a few hours later, the IDF stated they had not confirmed the reports. Notably, at no point did officials from the Israeli government, IDF, emergency services, or media mention “40 beheaded babies.”

Numerous publications, including Le Monde, conducted extensive research into the origin of this rumor. They concluded that it was fueled by “confusion and macabre exaggeration.”

Unfortunately, the false rumour quickly gained traction among anti-Israel advocates, who claimed it originated from the Israeli government and media, asserting that all reports of beheadings, rape, and torture must also be untrue—a claim they continue to make. However, the brutality of the Hamas attack remains undeniable.

What we do know is that residents and security personnel at Kfar Aza battled approximately 250 Hamas terrorists for hours before the IDF arrived. Thirty-seven community members were killed before the IDF’s arrival, and another eighteen were murdered by Hamas before control was regained. Nineteen people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, and one hostage was killed in crossfire when Hamas attacked the IDF.

Investigations by the UN and other organisations confirmed that women at the kibbutz were found stripped, bound, and shot in the head. They concluded that “sexual violence, including rape and torture,” likely occurred at Kfar Aza.

At other sites targeted in the attack, beheadings have been confirmed by Israeli and international pathologists, and families were burned alive in their homes. Hamas footage captured the attempted beheading of a still-living Thai worker, and the head of an IDF soldier was recovered in Gaza, where Hamas attempted to sell it for $10,000. Pathologists also confirmed that some babies had been decapitated, but they could not determine if these were deliberate acts or collateral damage from RPG fire.

Hamas videos recovered from the attackers revealed the mutilation of bodies, including that of a woman with bloodied genitalia, alongside brutal attacks on Israelis celebrating the last day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

It is unfathomable that some still deny the events of October 7, a day that the UN described as involving “the most extreme and inhumane forms of killing, torture, and other horrors,” including sexual violence, abduction, and the mutilation of corpses, all stemming from a social media rumour.