Hamas international spokesman Dr. Basem Naim claimed in an interview with Sky News that the group did not kill any civilians during its attack on Israel.
Verdict: False
Videos show Hamas militants killing civilians. Media outlets have reported that Hamas has killed hundreds of Israeli civilians.
Fact Check:
Hamas attacked southern Israel Oct. 7, hitting Israeli military bases and settlements, according to the New York Times. The fundamentalist group took hostages, with Israel declaring war on them in response to the attacks and sending troops to clear out Hamas militants, the outlet reported.
The Hamas spokesman, during an interview with Sky News, rejected reporting that Hamas had killed civilians. Naim claimed that Hamas “has not killed any civilians.” (RELATED: Video Claims To Show Hamas Destroying An Israeli Tank)
“No, we have not kill any civilians. But I have to say, to tell you as a world-respected journalist, we also have to redefine what [a civilian is]. I cannot consider a settler…who has stolen my land, carrying guns, burning a [Palestinian city] a civilian,” Naim said.
The claim that Hamas did not kill any civilians is false. Israel has recovered the bodies of over 260 people killed by Hamas when the group attacked a music festival, according to BBC News. BBC News also published a report about how the massacre unfolded, pieced together with videos published on social media. One of the videos showed Hamas shooting a man hiding underneath a car, the outlet reported.
The Washington Post reported on videos showing Hamas taking four Israeli civilians hostage before they were executed in the kibbutz of Be’eri. The videos of civilians being killed by Hamas were verified by CNN as well. More than 100 bodies were found in the kibbutz, the majority of them civilian, the outlet reported.
Nicole Zedek, a correspondent at i24 News, reported on how Hamas killed dozens of Israeli civilians in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza, including babies.
‘About 40 babies were taken out on gurneys… Cribs overturned, strollers left behind, doors left wide open’
Our correspondent @Nicole_Zedek continues to survey the horror scenes left behind in Kibbutz Kfar Aza where Hamas invaded and murdered dozens of Israelis in their homes pic.twitter.com/ZZCwDGkV8z
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 10, 2023
“”I’m talking to some of the soldiers and they say what they’ve witnessed as they’ve been walking through these different houses… Babies, their heads cut off, that’s what they said. Families gunned down in their beds,” Zedek reported.
Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst tweeted that Hamas beheaded babies and burned people alive in their homes.
Imagine the worst things possible that can be done to humans.
Hamas did all of that and more to Israeli civilians. Babies beheaded. People burned alive in their homes. Women raped and dragged through the streets.
Don’t look away.
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) October 10, 2023
The attack on Israel’s southern border also killed dozens of foreigners, according to Al-Jazeera. For example, 10 Nepalese citizens were killed in Kibbutz Alumim, one of the locations attacked by Hamas, the outlet reported. President Joe Biden also confirmed the death of at least 11 American citizens in a statement on Monday.
In addition, images of Hamas militants killing civilians in Israeli towns have begun to emerge, according to OSINTTechnical, an account run by an analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses.
Newly emerged images from Kibbutz Be’eri, Kfar Aza, and Kibbutz Re’em are incredibly disturbing.
All I can really say is that the degree of brutality is horrifying, and confirms that Hamas deliberately and systematically targeted civilians, aiming to kill as many as possible.
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 10, 2023
“Newly emerged images from Kibbutz Be’eri, Kfar Aza, and Kibbutz Re’em are incredibly disturbing. All I can really say is that the degree of brutality is horrifying, and confirms that Hamas deliberately and systematically targeted civilians, aiming to kill as many as possible,” the account tweeted.
Check Your Fact has reviewed images and videos of Hamas killing civilians. We are not linking to directly to them due to their extremely graphic and disturbing nature, but several of them have been geo-located to Israel by GeoConfirmed, a volunteer group that geolocates videos.
More than 900 Israelis have died and 2,600 were wounded since Hamas attacked Oct. 7, according to Haaretz. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 680 Palestinians have died to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, while the Israeli Defense Forces claimed to have killed more than 1,500 Hamas militants.
The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed the death of 73 Israeli soldiers, according to i24 News. Check Your Fact has debunked claims related to the recent events in Israel and Gaza. Read them here. (RELATED: Fact Checking Videos, Images And Posts From The October Hamas Attack On Israel)
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