‘I Would See And Have Confirmed Pictures Of Terrorists Beheading Children,’ Joe Biden Decries Hamas Atrocity In Israel
The US President Joe Biden expressed his horror at the gruesome images of children being beheaded by terrorists in southern Israel, where Hamas launched a surprise attack on Saturday that killed over 1,200 people and abducted around 150 others.
Biden spoke to Jewish leaders at the White House on Wednesday and said, “I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children. I never thought I’d ever — anyway.” He did not take any questions from the reporters, but said he was working to bring home the Americans who were captured by Hamas and taken to Gaza.
“I haven’t given up hope of bringing these folks home,” he said.
“If I told you, I wouldn’t be able to get them home.”
According to reports, up to 40 babies were slaughtered in their homes near the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas.
While a senior White House national security aide stated they hadn’t viewed the mentioned images, another White House official cited remarks made by Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Wednesday, Heinrich quoted CNN that infants and young children had been discovered with “decapitated” bodies in the community of Kfar Aza.
An Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson also told The Intercept that they could not confirm it officially, but they believed the report.
Yossi Landau, a representative from Israel’s volunteer civilian emergency response organization, Zaka, shared with CBS News that he witnessed the gruesome sight of children and infants who had been decapitated.
“I saw a lot more that cannot be described for now, because it’s very hard to describe,” he said.
Nicole Zedek, a television reporter for i24NEWS based in Tel Aviv, was the initial source to report the allegations of child beheadings on Tuesday. In a radio interview on Wednesday, she expressed her dismay at the initial public skepticism.
She stated, “I mean, babies’ heads cut off. That’s what they encountered when they came there. So as horrible as it is and and I wish that I it wasn’t true.”
The IDF also shared a disturbing image online on Wednesday that showed a blood-stained mattress of an Israeli child with blood spatter on the wall and the footboard.
Since Hamas’ shocking attack on Israel, the US President has refrained from taking press questions in various settings. He is encountering mounting pressure from members of both parties in Congress to reconsider his decision to release $6 billion to Iran, amid reports that the funds may have been connected to the planning of the attack.