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Who is Ben Zion? Internet troubled by lack of verification on '40 beheaded babies' as focus shifts to single source

The claim of 'beheaded babies' gained more traction after it was reiterated by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden

Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL: David Ben Zion, an Israeli reserve soldier, was identified as the key source who claimed militants "cut [off] heads of babies" of the Kfar Aza kibbutz following Hamas' October 7 attack. 

According to The Grayzone, Zion first made the comment while speaking to reporter Nicole Zedeck of Israel's i24News and reportedly hinted that the babies were hurt during an attack on Kfar Aza, a kibbutz on the Gaza border. 

The unverified claim was later apparently reiterated by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US President Joe Biden. However, the White House later rectified POTUS' statement. 

Moreover, Zion's unconfirmed statement spread across Western networks before Israeli journalist Oren Ziv took to X (formerly Twitter) to allege that they did not see "any evidence" of the claimed incident while visiting the Kfar Aza kibbutz. 

The lack of verification and confusion surrounding the alleged beheading of 40 babies left Internet users concerned. 

What did David Ben Zion say about the '40 beheaded babies' of the Kfar Aza kibbutz? 

During an interview with Nicole Zedeck, David Ben Zion stated, "We walked door to door, we killed a lot of terrorists," adding, "They are very bad. They cut the heads of children, they cut the heads of women. But we are stronger than them."

He further said, "We know that they are animals," referencing the Hamas militants, continuing, "But we found that they don’t have any heart."

As per The Grayzone, Zion is a Deputy Commander of Unit 71 of the Israeli army and an alleged extremist settler leader who purportedly incited violent riots against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank earlier this year.

The publication also pointed out that hours after his interview with Zedeck, a uniformed Zion was seen grinning ear-to-ear in a video posted on his Facebook profile. 

While speaking to the BBC, Zion claimed that Hamas killed families, including babies. While he mentioned that some of the victims were decapitated, he did not specify who was beheaded.

He allegedly said, "They killed them and cut some of their heads, it's a dreadful thing to see," to the outlet.

A look into the claims made about '40 beheaded babies' of the Kfar Aza kibbutz

Following David Ben Zion's statement, Nicole Zedeck, who shared a live report from Kfar Aza, said, "About 40 babies were taken out on gurneys…Cribs overturned, strollers left behind, doors left wide open."

Her report received over 11 million views on X (formerly Twitter) before she clarified that "soldiers told me they believe 40 babies/children were killed."

"The exact death toll is still unknown as the military continues to go house to house and find more Israeli casualties," mentioned the reporter. 

Meanwhile, CNN correspondent Nic Robertson recalled witnessing the brutality in Kfar Aza and described it as "ISIS-style executions" where they were "cutting the heads off of people."

Nicholas Fondacaro, the associate editor of Media Research Centre, shared a video of Robertson's report on X(formerly Twitter), writing, "Nic Robertson recalls being brought to Kfar Aza to witness the brutality Hamas brought on the community."

"He describes it as 'ISIS-style executions' where they were 'cutting the heads off of people' including babies and killing their pets. One family hid their kids in a cupboard while they tried to distract the attackers. They were killed, but the distraction worked," added Fondacaro. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman also claimed babies and toddlers were found with their "heads decapitated," with the Prime Minister himself sharing an image of a bloodstained child's bed, with a caption that read, "Hamas is worse than ISIS," according to The Grayzone. 

President Joe Biden also addressed the claims while speaking to Jewish community leaders at a round table on Wednesday, October 11, and apparently said, "It matters that Americans see what is happening. I have been doing this a long time — I never thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children." 

However, the White House quickly clarified Biden's remarks saying he was referring to media reports when he made that comment. 

Israeli Defence Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus even claimed that a coroner who witnessed the aftermath of the attack after visiting a kibbutz close to the Gaza Strip saw the children's bodies and confirmed how they died.

"I admit it took us some time to really understand and to verify that report and it was hard to believe that even Hamas could perform such a barbaric act," stated Conricus, as per the Daily Mail. 

"I think we can now say, with relative confidence, that this is what Hamas did... there were bodies scattered everywhere, mutilated," alleged the IDF spokesman. 

Having said that, another IDF spokesman, Maj Doron Spielman, reportedly told NBC News that he could not confirm how many babies had been beheaded during Hamas' attack.

"What I can confirm is there were enormous witness testimonies along with evidence found in the field that there were children that were grotesquely murdered and their body parts were removed," noted Spielman. 

Another CNN correspondent, Hadas Gold, said that they received a report from the Israeli Prime Minister's office that babies were beheaded, and it was further shared by the State of Israel's official X (formerly Twitter) account with the caption, "They decapitated babies and toddlers."

However, CNN soon backtracked the report and clarified and took to X (formerly Twitter) to write, "Israel cannot confirm the specific claim that babies were beheaded in Hamas' attack, an official says, contradicting previous public statement." 

The Israeli official said, "There have been cases of Hamas militants carrying out beheadings and other ISIS-style atrocities. However, we cannot confirm if the victims were men or women, soldiers or civilians, adults or children," in a statement made to the publication. 

Israeli journalist debunks claims made about '40 beheaded babies' 

Amid the circulating unverified claims, Israeli journalist Oren Ziv took to X (formerly Twitter) to allege that he did not see "any evidence" of babies being beheaded while on a visit to the Kfar Aza village. 

"I’m getting a lot of question about the reports of ‘Hamas beheaded babies’ that were published after the media tour in the village," wrote the journalist, adding, "During the tour we didn’t see any evidence of this, and the army spokesperson or commanders also didn’t mention any such incidents." 

Ziv explained, "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.'"

"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," stated the journalist. 

"This doesn't mean that war crimes were not committed. The scene in Kfar Aza was horrific, with dozens of bodies of Israelis murdered in their homes," clarified Ziv. 

He also mentioned, "Sadly, Israel will now use these false claims to escalate the bombing of Gaza, and to justify its war crimes there," referencing the airstrikes on Gaza.  

Internet shares concern over lack of clear verification about '40 beheaded babies' in Israel 

While the claim of "40 beheaded babies" of the Kfar Aza kibbutz took social media by storm, many netizens showed concern, especially when they learned about David Ben Zion being the source. 

"Where is the proof though? I feel like if they had proof of this they would present it…" wrote one, while another mentioned, "Don't believe anything the media tells you anymore...."

A user expressed, "Devilish liar. He does not represent true Israel." 

"Nothing more natural than spouting fantastical lies to justify a fake entity," stated one more.  

Another inquired, "The only question is did Hamas spare children or did they deliberately kill them? That’s the only question that matters. Show us proof that they did not kill innocent children and families first."

It is to be noted that Hamas has called these reports “false” and on its Telegram channel said, "Hamas has strongly dismissed the false claims promoted by some Western media outlets, such as Palestinian freedom fighters killing children and targeting civilians" as reported by CNN.