Israel invites world’s media to watch ‘raw footage’ of ‘Hamas massacre’ to justify its military action

World

Two young boys dressed in just their underpants can be seen scrambling in panic inside the family home as a Hamas terrorist attack struck.

Their father ushers his sons towards an exit, scooping up one of them after he stumbles.

Caught on security cameras, the boys sprint out of the house, across a yard and into what appears to be a stone-walled shelter, likely the safe room, followed by their father.

But just as he enters, a militant throws a hand grenade. It explodes. The father falls to the ground, while his two sons, injured, bleeding and dazed, stagger back outside.

They are later seen crying, saying: “Daddy is dead… Why am I alive?… I want my mum.”

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The images were shared by the Israeli military as part of a compilation of what it described as “raw footage” of the atrocities committed by Hamas in southern Israel on 7 October, which left more than 1,400 Israelis dead and over 200 taken hostage.

The unprecedented attack, the deadliest in Israel’s 75-year history, prompted Israeli leaders to launch a war against Hamas in the militant group’s stronghold of Gaza.

A need for the world to understand why Israel is fighting back is why international journalists were invited to watch the 43-minute film, entitled “Hamas massacre”, at a military base outside Tel Aviv on Monday.

No cameras were allowed inside.

It was not possible independently to verify all of the images, though a portion of them have already been widely shared.

Officials said the compilation drew on footage taken from cameras worn by the attackers, mobile phones – both from the militants and their victims – as well as CCTV and car dashboard cameras.

Image:
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari

“We want to understand ourselves what we are fighting for,” said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, presenting the footage.

“It is nothing else but raw material that will try to grab, not the sense of rage or righteousness, but grab the sense of a crime against humanity. Of bad and good. Of dead and life.”

The horror inflicted on the two boys and their father is one of the most distressing moments in the film, which presents snapshots of various attacks against a string of kibbutzim close to the Gaza border and a large outdoor music festival.

After the grenade explosion – the boys, one older than the other, but neither looking to be older than nine or 10 – are pictured sitting on chairs in their kitchen.

They are in a state of terror and bewilderment, with one saying: “Daddy is dead.”

He also asked: “Why am I alive?”

A man then walks in, opens the family fridge and asks the boys if they want water.

“I want my mum,” the younger of the two says.

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The militant takes a swig from a bottle of drink in the fridge.

In another clip, the older boy asks his brother, who has an injury to one eye, if he can see out of his eye. The younger child says he cannot.

The last image of the two boys shows them running again together outside.

Their fate is not clear.

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The compilation of clips tries to document different sites where atrocities took place.

It starts with militants driving across the border from Gaza on motorbikes and sitting in the back of pickup trucks shouting “Allahu Akbar” – God is greatest.

They are pictured breaking into a number of rural kibbutzim communities, moving to different houses, at times opening fire – killing residents and even pets.

An onslaught against a huge peace festival is also documented, with young partygoers gunned down as they tried to flee or bundled into the back of vehicles as hostages.

The film also includes what is described by the IDF as a recording of a phone call by a terrorist to his father, using the phone of an Israeli victim.

It was not possible independently to verify the audio.

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In the purported exchange, the militant is heard boasting about how he had killed Jews: “I killed ten with my bare hands.”

A spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) explained why the military decided to share the compilation with foreign journalists.

“We felt uncomfortable,” said Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht.

“We don’t parade bodies on TikTok and on our social media like our adversaries.

“But we felt it was important to show the international press what happened here, to understand the tragedy… to understand… what happened here.

“I think we had to do it.”

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