An investigation conducted by the French newspaper “Liberation”, published on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, revealed that the allegations issued by Israel regarding the occurrence of atrocities in the “Operation Flood Al-Aqsa” attack, on the seventh of last October, were false, and their aim was to mobilize Israeli and international public opinion for violent retaliation against Gaza.

The newspaper’s investigation revealed that “no heads were cut off, no children were placed in ovens, no pregnant women’s stomachs were cut open, or no children’s hands were tied behind their backs.”

The newspaper also revealed that "during the October 7 attack, only one infant was killed out of 40 minors killed in the attack."

The investigation conducted by the newspaper's "Investigation Department" noted the inconsistency of a number of testimonies given by Israeli parties, in addition to the fact that many of them were false, according to data collected over the course of two months after the attack.

The newspaper concluded that “these false atrocities claimed by Israel were part of Israeli propaganda aimed at mobilizing international support,” stressing that this propaganda campaign involved soldiers from the occupation forces and members of the Civil Defense, along with senior political officials. Then the newspaper asked: “Did Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, and the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, participate in spreading these lies?”

It is not the only investigation

The French newspaper’s investigation was not the only one that refuted the occupation’s allegations. Rather, the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” refuted, in an investigation published on Sunday, December 3, 2023, what Tel Aviv promoted about allegations of beheading Israeli children and burning their bodies during the Hamas attack on settlements around the Gaza Strip on October 7, stressing that this narrative is “incorrect and has no basis in reality.”

The newspaper said that what happened that day led to the spread of "horror stories, none of which happened in reality." Israel relied largely in justifying its devastating war on the Gaza Strip on these allegations, which the investigative investigation revealed to be untrue.

Spreading lies

The newspaper indicated that the alleged stories about “committed atrocities,” some of which were based on details provided by Israeli officials, soldiers in the occupation army, and volunteers in search and rescue teams.

The newspaper revealed that some of these allegations were found to be unfounded, and the occupation army also acknowledged that one of these false stories was spread based on allegations made by at least one Israeli soldier.

The Israeli non-governmental organization ZAKA, which works in the field of relief and rescue and volunteered to work at the sites of the attacks, said that some of its members “may have misunderstood” what they saw; Because they are not forensic specialists.” The newspaper notes that workers in the organization gave testimonies to the media.

The newspaper points out that one of the most prominent stories that people circulated about the events based on unreliable testimonies and misleading information is the story of the killing of some Israeli children and infants.

False testimonies of soldiers

The newspaper drew attention to a report published by the Israeli "i24" news channel a few days after the attack, which claimed that the attackers beheaded 30 children, and this alleged news quickly made headlines around the world.

The newspaper adds, “Despite growing doubts about the veracity of this story, other unreliable testimonies began to appear about alleged atrocities committed against children and infants, the most prominent of which was testimony given by Colonel (res.) Golan Fach, head of the Israeli military search and rescue unit, who claimed he saw the burned bodies of infants.”

Then, last week, an Israeli reporter published an interview with a soldier who claimed to have seen a group of “children and infants hanging on a clothesline,” according to the British website Middle East Eye.

Haaretz confirmed that these allegations are false, and information collected by the Israeli National Insurance Institute and investigations by police and kibbutz leaders revealed that these bodies are almost finished identifying the Israelis killed on October 7, yet they have only identified an infant. One of the dead so far.

The newspaper explains, "The children who were killed that day included a 4-year-old child, two 6-year-old children, and two 5-year-old children. The majority of the children killed were between 12 and 17 years old, and some of them were killed by missiles."

Haaretz also quoted an Israeli military spokesman - whose name was not mentioned - as saying that the soldier who claimed to have seen “children hanging on a clothesline” was a reservist and did not speak in an official capacity, and the Israeli army denied his allegations.

When the Israeli military spokesman was asked about what Colonel Fach, who claimed to have seen burned infants, said, the spokesman said he made a mistake and said “infants,” but he meant “children.”