The ’40 Beheaded Babies’ Rumour and the Real Horror of Kfar Aza

On October 10, 2023, a rumor spread on social media claiming that “40 beheaded babies” had been found at Kibbutz Kfar Aza after the Hamas-led terror attacks on October 7.

This story began when the press was taken to Kfar Aza, where over 60 people had been killed, to witness the devastation caused just three days earlier. Israeli i24NEWS correspondent Nicole Zedeck reported from the scene, mentioning claims about 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 mixed up and exaggerated on social media, leading to the “40 beheaded babies” narrative.

As the day went on, the i24NEWS report was cited by other media outlets. An Israeli government spokesman referenced it in a press statement, even though it hadn’t been confirmed. Some outlets urged caution, and a few hours later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated they had not confirmed the reports. Importantly, at no point did officials from the Israeli government, IDF, emergency services, or the media mention “40 beheaded babies.”

Several publications, including Le Monde, investigated the source of this rumor. They concluded it was fueled by “confusion and exaggerated claims.”

Unfortunately, the false rumor quickly gained traction among anti-Israel advocates, who falsely claimed it came from the Israeli government and media. They argued that all reports of beheadings, rape, and torture must also be false—a claim they continue to make. However, the brutality of the Hamas-led attacks is undeniable.

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

Investigations by the UN and other organizations 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 locations targeted in the attack, beheadings have been confirmed by Israeli and international pathologists, and families were burned alive in their homes. Hamas footage revealed the attempted beheading of a living Thai worker, and the head of an IDF soldier was recovered in Gaza, where Hamas tried to sell it for US$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 showed the mutilation of bodies, including that of a woman with bloodied genitalia, alongside brutal assaults 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 corpse mutilation.