By: Tyler O'Neil, The Daily Signal
Israeli soldiers report finding the bodies of babies, some of them decapitated, in the ruins of a town ravaged by Hamas terrorists in their surprise attack on Saturday.
Israeli Defense Force soldiers took dozens of foreign journalists Tuesday to Kfar Aza, a town about 1.5 miles southeast of the Gaza border. Journalists surveyed the devastation, with explosions and artillery fire occurring in the background.
“It’s not a war,” Gen. Itai Veruv, head of the IDF’s Depth Command, told reporters. “It’s not a battlefield. You see the babies, the mothers, the fathers in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms, and how the terrorists kill them.”
“It’s not a war … it’s a massacre,” Veruv added.
Nicole Zedek, an i24 News reporter, said that an IDF commander told her they found the bodies of some 40 babies, some of whom had been beheaded.
Earlier Tuesday, the IDF reported having regained control over the border with the Gaza Strip, roughly 72 hours after Hamas terrorists blew through sections of the barrier and launched the invasion early Saturday morning, The Times of Israel reported.
Hamas militants attacked Israel on the last day of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, as well as the Sabbath day of rest and the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. The terrorists slaughtered over 900 Israelis, including about 250 at a music festival, and kidnapped more than 100.
“This morning, on Shabbat and a holiday, Hamas invaded Israeli territory and murdered innocent citizens, including children and the elderly,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday. “Hamas has started a brutal and evil war.”
“They didn’t go for military targets—they went for civilians, they went for grandmothers, children, babies,” Israeli Defense Forces’ international spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said in a video message Sunday. “The numbers are unprecedented.”
“The style of attack is barbaric,” Hecht added. “In a way, this is our 9/11.”
He explained that the Hamas fighters attacked a party near the Gaza strip and kidnapped a grandmother. “Everybody, nearly, in Israel is affected by this.”
Hamas militants shot civilians at bus stops, on roads, and in their cars, photos show, according to Israeli experts who spoke to the Times of Israel. Videos reportedly show Israeli civilians, including women and children, getting abducted and taken to Gaza. Two videos raise concerns of sexual assault or rape.
Related Story: Israel Retakes Control of Certain Occupied Areas from Hamas Near Gaza After Terrorist Attack
