Le Monde newspaper said that the rumor that spread on October 10 regarding beheaded children is still spreading 6 months after the outbreak of the war on Gaza, raising accusations of deception against Israel.

The newspaper explained, in a lengthy investigation, that the flood of testimonies about crimes of murder, looting, and mutilation, which followed the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which a rumor spread that took on unusual dimensions.

This rumor states that 40 children were found with their heads cut off in the kibbutz of the Kfar Azza settlement, although this did not happen in Kfar Azza nor in any other kibbutz, as the Israeli government press office confirmed to the newspaper.

This story and its details witnessed unprecedented spread, and the White House even spoke about it, and the newspaper wondered how this false information emerged and spread.

Le Monde said that it conducted an investigation to shed light on a rumor that was organically born, from a mixture of emotions, confusion and horrific exaggeration, and Israel did nothing to combat it, but rather often tried to exploit it rather than deny it, which led to fueling accusations of media manipulation.

No confirmations

The newspaper began its investigation from what was reported by its correspondent in Jerusalem, Samuel Fourie, who participated in the visit organized by the Israeli army for dozens of journalists and foreign correspondents to Kibbutz Kfar Azza, where 60 people were killed.

Fouri said that he arrived at the place and there were still bodies everywhere, dead Israelis wrapped in bags, or Hamas fighters lying where they fell.

Faury said that the official in Le Monde called him immediately after the visit, which lasted 90 minutes, and asked him: Have you seen children with their heads cut off? He responded, “I saw the information on social media on my way back, but there doesn’t seem to be anything to confirm it.”

He continued, "No soldier spoke to me about it, and I spoke to 6 of them. I do not think this story is possible. The soldiers had been in the kibbutz since the day before. Such a terrible event could have been documented, and no soldier told it to any of the journalists."

The journalist explained that he contacted two first aid organizations, and no one mentioned the beheading or denied it, but the strong image - as he says - takes precedence over reality, as it serves to portray Hamas as the embodiment of absolute evil.

The Le Monde journalist points out that this was the basis of his message that he published on the X website (formerly Twitter), the day after the visit to Kfar Azza, but after some time had passed, he noticed that his publication was no longer available in France and some European countries, and thus it became clear to him that the children’s story Headless false information.

Because journalists cannot enter a large number of homes for fear of mines, the only Israeli bodies they see are in bags, all the size of adults. The General Staff did not mention the dead children, but they were given the opportunity to ask the soldiers and rescuers present.

Imaginary things

Le Monde continued that rescuers from the "Zaka" organization, an extremist Jewish non-governmental organization responsible for recovering bodies in accordance with Jewish teachings - as the journalist said - were found at the scene of the accident, and they discovered bodies that were no longer recognizable.

Due to the lack of medical training, some people misunderstand the identity and ages of the victims, and the press was told that a pregnant woman was disemboweled and her fetus stabbed, which never happened, as ZAKA volunteer Nachman Dikstegen confirmed to Le Monde newspaper.

"The rescuers saw a lot of dead people, the bodies of women and children, and body parts, and they probably said things they imagined," Dijkstegen added. Indeed, the NGO's spokespeople showed a shocking amount of excess.

ZAKA founder Yossi Landau said that he "saw with his own eyes beheaded children and infants," but the Israeli newspaper Haaretz later revealed that the association, which was in a precarious financial situation, tried to take advantage of the tragedy to attract donations.

Le Monde quoted an Israeli journalist as saying that the number of 40 children killed in Kfar Azza came from Michael Levy, a French-speaking reserve doctor, who categorically denied promoting that number.

But when Le Monde asked him, he confirmed that he had seen a young boy beheaded in Kfar Azza, a claim that is absent from his on-camera testimony and contradicts official reports that the kibbutz's youngest victim was 14 years old.

The rumor journey

The rumor started with the first mention of beheaded children by Israeli “i24 News” journalist Nicole Zedek, when she said in a live broadcast from Kibbutz Kfar Azza that soldiers talked about “children with their heads cut off, that’s what they say,” and she continued that “about 40 children.” They were carried on stretchers,” although she did not see anything, the newspaper says.

In the evening, Elon Levy, Israeli government spokesman, repeated the information received from the journalist, and wrote, “Hamas has cut off the heads of infants. We will eliminate it.” A CNN journalist talks about “children” and “severed heads” with a twist. Rumors.

An Israeli army spokesman condemned “the slaughter of children, even beheading them.” The French-speaking Israeli army spokesman, Olivier Rafovich, described a “real mass grave” discovered in Kfar Azza and stated that “children were slaughtered, and even their heads were cut off.”

The Western press generally adopted the novel - according to Le Monde - and it was reported by English popular newspapers. Contrary to the trend, the New York Times mentioned only 3 dead children and called for caution.

Agence France-Presse indicated that only two children were killed in Kfar Azza and called for caution. For the first time, the Israeli army said that it had “no information confirming the allegations” of the beheading of children by “Hamas.”

Israel justifies its response

In a video, the Israeli Foreign Ministry reiterated that “40 children were killed by Hamas terrorists” and pledged to “do everything in its power to protect Israeli children,” even though the rumor had never before been used so clearly in war communications.

US President Joe Biden claimed that he saw "images of terrorists beheading children" during a meeting with leaders of the American Jewish community.

Thus, this rumor has become an element of the information war, as Israel develops a dual discourse of caution on the one hand and vindictive on the other hand, even though it admitted on CNN that it cannot confirm the story of the beheaded children, which prompted American journalist Sarah Sidner to To apologize.

The Israeli army sometimes contradicts itself - according to Le Monde - by saying that it has no information to confirm these allegations, but at the same time French and English-speaking Israeli army spokesmen convey them.

Only live inside Israel

The newspaper said that Israel's exploitation of rumors has become a weapon used by its opponents. After the rumors were shared by Israeli accounts, some Internet users sought to shed light on the story of "40 children," without hiding their hatred for Israel, according to the newspaper.

Suleiman Ahmed, a widely followed pro-Palestinian influencer, referred to “Zionist propaganda” and “media manipulation,” and asked, “How many civilians did Hamas really kill? The number is low. How many were killed intentionally? It is close to zero. More importantly, Hamas "She did not kill a single child."

American political commentator Jackson Hinkle spoke about the “lie,” and said in a message that was viewed more than 5 million times that “children were not beheaded,” and stressed that “Israel lied about everyone.”

i24 News only corrected its beheading story on November 30, saying, “While the official figures have become clearer, we are correcting our initial report,” and removing the phrase “40 children.”

The newspaper confirmed that although this rumor was denied abroad, it is still alive inside Israel and the Israeli street is still talking about this story as if it were true, and questioning it means for a large part of Israelis questioning the attacks of October 7.

Source: Le Monde