- The Washington Times - Wednesday, October 11, 2023

A version of this story appeared in the On Background newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive On Background delivered directly to your inbox each Friday.

President Biden on Wednesday confirmed for the first time that Hamas beheaded children during the brutal terror attacks on Israel this past weekend, saying he saw photos of the atrocities.

Mr. Biden confirmed the beheadings during a roundtable discussion with Jewish community leaders at the White House to underscore U.S. support for Israel amid its war with Hamas.



“It matters that Americans see what’s happening. I mean, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I never really thought that I would see confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children,” Mr. Biden said.

Media outlets had reported the bodies of young Israeli babies, including some with their heads cut off, had been found by Israel Defense Forces soldiers in a southern Israeli kibbutz. However, U.S. intelligence had yet to confirm the beheadings.

The bodies were discovered among burned-out houses and other carnage after Hamas terrorists attacked the Kfar Aza kibbutz near the Gaza border.

In a video posted on X, an Israel journalist reporting from the scene said soldiers walking through the community discovered about 40 babies, including some decapitated.

The IDF were removing the bodies of the victims from the area when they found the children’s remains, according to the report. They are using bones to attempt to identify the victims.

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“You see the babies, the mothers, the fathers, in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms and how the terrorist kills them. It’s not a war, it’s not a battlefield. It’s a massacre, it’s a terror activity,” Israeli Major General Itai Veruv said. 

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.

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