As the second anniversary of the October 7 “Al Aqsa Flood” operation approaches, not only do we find an undeniable genocide in Palestine but a wider expanding conflict that shows little signs of abating. While the Israeli occupation of Palestine leading up to October 7th were decades in the making, there is no doubt that the fateful day masterminded by Yahya Sinwar may become one of the most consequential events in modern history, echoing through time like the shot fired by Gavrilo Princip that set off a chain of events leading to World War I.
The catastrophic Israeli response to the operation has been built on a carefully crafted Hasbara narrative made up of atrocity propaganda, an utter dehumanisation of the Palestinian people, outright denial of appalling Zionist crimes and feigning ignorance when there’s no other resort. Every claim has been amplified by Western politicians, mainstream media outlets and prominent social media influencers with little or no scrutiny.
Here are the top 10 most insidious Israeli — and Western — claims, shored up in exchange for an astonishing moral and human cost, that has brought us to where we are today.
- “40 Beheaded Babies”
The claim that Hamas militants beheaded 40 babies after October 7th, 2023, spread rapidly around the world. This viral allegation from Kfar Aza rests on a misreported battlefield rumour and skeptics had dubbed it as atrocity propaganda. The Israeli government later admitted it could not verify the story, and President Biden walked back his repetition of it, despite making claims he had personally seen such images.[1] On his visit to Britain nearly two years after October 7th, US President Donald Trump made a claim of seeing images of “…children being cut to pieces…” by Hamas during a press conference as he stood beside UK PM Keir Starmer. No photographic or forensic evidence has ever been presented. Major outlets like The Guardian and Reuters confirmed that the story was based on a single soldier’s testimony and has never been substantiated. The only baby killed on October 7th was 10 month old Mila Cohen who was shot by crossfire. The Bituah Leumi, Israel’s social security agency, provided a list of the dead from October 7th confirming this.
By contrast, there is documented mass child killing in Gaza (tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands) from Israeli strikes. Social media has been filled with unspeakable images of beheaded Palestinian children, pulverised by Western arms supplied to Israelis. Mohammed Saeed Al-Ustadh, a 7 year old child, was one such victim — his father identified him by his clothes. Doctors in Gaza have also observed children with a single gunshot wound to the head or chest. The Dutch Daily Volkskrant has recorded over 114 such cases of deliberate and targeted killing.[2] The claim Israelis and their Western backers made to launch this devastating genocide, has been used to turn Gaza into an abattoir for children. On September 3rd, 2025, Dr. Gideon Polya and Professor Richard Hil calculated the total death toll for Gaza since the genocide began. Based on the data collected, they have concluded the death toll in Gaza is at least 680,000 — and 380,000 are infants under the age of five.[3] Two years on, no evidence has ever been produced to support the claims of beheaded babies by Hamas.
- “Babies Placed in Ovens”
This shocking allegation, circulated by Israeli officials and pro-Israel accounts, lacks any credible forensic or eyewitness evidence. Independent investigations, including by Haaretz and The Washington Post, found no documentation of such atrocities. Its resemblance to Holocaust imagery suggests it functions more as psychological propaganda than fact. Meanwhile, Israel has repeatedly used white phosphorus in populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon, an incendiary that causes horrific burns and fires—conduct independently documented by rights groups.[4]
Other unsubstantiated accusations against Hamas, including the killing of pregnant women and their foetuses, come right out of blood-stained Israeli history. In the first case, a baby was thrown into an oven during the Deir Yassin massacre by Zionist paramilitaries before the occupation of Palestine in 1948; the pregnant woman story is something which actually happened in the massacre at Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon in 1982.[5] Israelis are projecting their own crimes onto its victims — a theme that continues throughout their accusations.
- “Hamas Raped Women Before and After Killing Them”
While Israeli officials and media have repeatedly accused Hamas of mass sexual violence, UN agencies and human rights monitors have stressed that no verified evidence supports these claims. A UN special report (UN OCHA, Dec 2023) made a claim to believe there are “…reasonable grounds to believe sexual violence occurred…” on October 7th — while it also noted reliance on uncorroborated testimony and absence of forensic proof!
The conclusion was based on the testimony of two key witnesses — both debunked. Neither claimed to have seen any form of sexual assault. In the case of Chaim Otmazgin, a Kibbutz worker, he made inferences based on seeing a dead Israeli woman who was found partially undressed. Nearly three months later, ZAKA, an Israeli search and rescue organisation who Otmazgin worked for, found out Otmazgin’s interpretation was wrong. After cross-checking with military contacts, ZAKA found that a group of Israeli soldiers had dragged the girl’s body across the room to make sure it wasn’t booby-trapped. During the procedure, her clothing had come off.
In the second account, another ZAKA worker Yossi Landau describes how he saw a pregnant woman lying on the floor, her fetus still attached to the umbilical cord wrenched from her body. Landau frantically calls the same Otmazgin from the first account into the home. But Otmazgin did not see what Landau described. Instead, he saw the body of a heavy-set woman and an unidentifiable hunk attached to an electric cable. Everything was charred. [6] Their response? “We’re not forensic experts.”
Many of the sexual assault claims came from ZAKA. They were accused of handling the bodies incorrectly, moving them around and contaminating them. The organisation was already in trouble before October 7th as it was on the verge of insolvency. One of its own founders had resigned due to allegations of rape and paedophilia.
Many of the sexual assault claims came from ZAKA. They were accused of handling the bodies incorrectly, moving them around and contaminating them.
Sexual violence did occur under Israeli supervision however. It wasn’t long after Hamas’ operation when a video from Sde Teiman prison spread across the world; Israeli soldiers gang raping a Palestinian man. The US State Department responded by calling on the Israeli military to investigate itself.[7] Israelis, outraged by any notion of accountability, held violent and aggressive protest rallies with politicians and TV media personalities across Occupied Palestine, for what they said is their “...right to rape”. [8] The level of depravity witnessed by the world would have made it easier to believe this was a fictional story than that of documented reality.
- “Hamas Must Release the Hostages”
Public tallies show the composition of civilians to IDF servicemen and women captured by Hamas and other resistance groups have changed over time. According to Israeli government figures, approximately 240 people were captured on October 7th. Nearly 40 of those were active military personnel. Dozens of the older men and women were reservists with prior IDF service. Half were foreign or dual nationals — Thai, Nepalese and Filipinos were migrant labourers with no IDF service, while many US, British, Russian and French captives had most certainly all gone through IDF training (barring special exemptions or if they were minors).
According to the Times of Israel, the remaining hostages in Gaza are mostly young Israeli men of military age, including several confirmed IDF soldiers — although all are not active-duty. The women, children, elderly, and foreign nationals were largely released or exchanged by late 2023. To reiterate, the hostages that remain today are likely all Israeli militants.
By contrast, Israel’s detention numbers of complete innocents dwarf Hamas’s captives count. As of June 30, 2025, the Israel Prison Service data (summarized by DCIP) show 360 Palestinian children behind bars—41% without charge under administrative detention, the highest share DCIP has recorded since 2008. UN/OHCHR and Israeli NGO data show total Palestinians in custody in excess of an astonishing 10,000 people inside the formal prison system during mid-2025, with 3,500+ held without trial; rights groups also document thousands more Gazans held in military sites or “disappeared.”
By contrast, Israel’s detention numbers of complete innocents dwarf Hamas’s captives count
The UN Human Rights Office reported at least 75 Palestinians (including a 17-year-old) have died in Israeli detention since Oct 7, amid torture/ill-treatment allegations. Separately, Palestinian prisoner groups estimate around 18,000 arrests in the West Bank alone since October 7th (not counting Gaza detentions). These figures demonstrate that, on deprivation of liberty—including children—Israel’s scale is vastly larger. [9] The rallying cry to release dozens of captured soldiers from the criminal Israeli army rings hollow while they detain thousands of hostages in dungeons prior to October 7th.
- “There is No Famine”
One of the great ironies of the genocide is the propaganda campaign by Zionists to label all incriminating footage of Israeli crimes in Palestine as “Pallywood” — a smear designed to cast doubt on readily available footage of their atrocities. All when Zionists have, for decades, made Hollywood a core front of their global PR campaign with movies like Ben Hur, Exodus, Schlindler’s List and World War Z. As more and more harrowing images of people dying of malnutrition in Gaza emerge from Israel’s brutal siege, the dehumanising language and denials have got even louder.
However, this claim against Israel is not made by Hamas but by international bodies. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC, August 2025) confirmed Gaza faces famine due to Israel’s blockade, restrictions on food, and destruction of agriculture. UN agencies, including the WFP and UNICEF, hold Israel responsible for deliberate deprivation, making famine a man-made result of siege tactics.
Classifying famine means that the most extreme category is triggered when three critical thresholds – extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths – have been breached. The latest analysis now affirms on the basis of reasonable evidence that these criteria have been met. [10]
The induced famine is not only man-made but was on Israel’s agenda from the beginning of the genocide. The plan enjoyed Western support immediately: less than a month after October 7th, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that Israel “…has the right…” to cut off power and water to Gaza after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared a “…total…” blockade on Gaza that specifically included food and water. [11] [12]
The little food that is let inside is delivered miles away from population centres forcing Palestinians to walk for hours barefoot. Once exhausted and malnourished Palestinians find themselves at the aid distribution points they are surrounded by Israeli snipers (as well as the “Infidels Motorcycle Club”, an anti-Muslim American biker gang recruited as mercenaries) who mark out invisible and changing death zones. Here, they give Palestinians desperately short timeframes to collect aid before they shoot them for sport in what can only be described as a real life Hunger Games. The most infamous “aid distribution” spot being in the Netzarim Corridor. Since the end of May, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed when the Israeli army has opened indiscriminate fire on people gathered to try to get aid. More than 4,000 have been wounded so far. [13]
- “There is no Genocide”
Many media personalities and Zionist politicians parroted Israeli Hasbara talking points when confronted with the question: is Israel committing a genocide? The knee-jerk response was the same — death counts were dismissed, the figures attributed to the “Hamas-run Ministry of Health,” even by major outlets like the BBC. What’s curious is that the data presented by the “Hamas-run Ministry of Health” have consistently tallied with independent reports in all previous incursions and attacks into Gaza by Israelis for years prior to October 7th and proved to be a reliable source of information.
Nonetheless, in January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s actions in Gaza are “…plausibly genocidal..” and ordered provisional measures to prevent genocide. South Africa’s case against Israel highlights mass civilian killings, forced displacement, and destruction of essential life systems. For supporters of the settler state, they slept comfortably feeling that the word “plausible” gave them some room to manoeuvre. Even with openly genocidal statements from Benjamin Netanyahu (when he spoke of killing “Amalek”), Yoav Gallant (referring to Palestinians as “human animals”) and countless Knesset members who speak of complete extermination [14], detractors performed gymnastics to protect Zionists from obvious conclusions.
However, it has become more difficult for Israelis and their allies to deny the truth: the world’s leading association of genocide scholars has declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The IAGS is the world’s largest professional association of genocide scholars and includes a number of Holocaust experts. Out of its 500 members, 28% took part in the vote and 86% of those who voted supported the resolution. Typically, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the report was based on “Hamas lies” and called it “blood libel”.
- “Israel’s 9/11”
October 7th has been described as one that resulted in the greatest number of Jewish deaths since the Holocaust. What’s not been described in much detail is who actually killed most of them.
Multiple reports, including Haaretz (October 2023), suggest the IDF used the Hannibal Directive—authorizing lethal force to prevent hostage-taking—even if it endangered Israeli captives. Testimonies from survivors at the Nova festival and kibbutzim describe Israeli helicopters and tanks firing indiscriminately. Reuters documented a hostage likely killed by Israeli helicopter fire; ABC Australia summarized evidence of IDF rounds hitting vehicles with hostages. These accounts raise serious questions about how many Israeli deaths were caused by IDF fire, not Hamas. The heavily charred cars, bodies and surrounding areas suggested the use of firepower that was far beyond Hamas’ capabilities. This undermines blanket claims that Hamas alone caused all Israeli deaths that day.
The Hannibal Directive was explicitly confirmed by the UN. The commission wrote that it “…documented strong indications that the ‘Hannibal Directive’ was used in several instances on 7th October, harming Israelis at the same time as striking Palestinian militants.” Additionally, the presence of armed Israeli combatants embedded throughout the civilian population – often using the latter as effective human shields – speaks to the operational challenges faced by Hamas on the ground that day.[15]
Many Israeli security personnel and soldiers have individually admitted that the Hannibal Directive was instituted, but Israeli senior officials had never admitted its use. But in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, the former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant admitted he gave the Hannibal Directive order. “I think that, tactically, in some places, it was given, and in other places, it was not given, and that is a problem.”[16] Gallant explained the directive was not used enough!
in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, the former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant admitted he gave the Hannibal Directive order
Evidence of the continued use of this policy still persists. Israel continues to apply the Hannibal Directive in all but name as it bombs Gaza with the payload of ‘6 Hiroshimas’ [17] and enforcing a crushing siege with little regard to how it would affect Israeli hostages. In fact, its own airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of at least 3 hostages already with others being killed through direct shots from the IDF. [18 & 19] Despite this, Israel continues to package the event as “Israel’s 9/11” to generate maximum sympathy from Western audiences. And just like 9/11, the event has been used to demonise Muslims and expand the war to other lands instead of protecting their own citizens.
To make matters worse, Israel has turned back on several deals to end the genocide and receive their captives at the 11th hour on a number of occasions. Netanyahu rejected proposals by his own negotiators and many inside Israel say he has no appetite for a deal. Israel’s slaughter of key Hamas negotiators such as Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024 on Iranian soil and Israel’s attempt to kill all of Hamas’ negotiation team in Qatar in September this year points to a style of war that defies longstanding global rules of engagement and ethics. [20]
- “Israel Had No Knowledge of the October 7 Attack”
The 7th of October attack was the biggest military and intelligence failure in Israel’s history. Several senior military officials have resigned over it. Netanyahu has consistently denied any personal failure. His critics, though, believe it is the prime minister who was ultimately responsible for the failure to prevent the deadliest attack on the country since the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948.
Israeli intelligence was repeatedly warned of Hamas’s training exercises and preparations for a major assault. New York Times and Haaretz investigations (November 2023) show detailed reports were circulated, yet ignored at senior levels due to overconfidence in surveillance technology. This failure mirrors 1973’s Yom Kippur War intelligence lapses and undermines Israel’s narrative of being taken wholly by surprise.
Multiple investigations show Israel possessed a detailed plan (“Jericho Wall”) and other warnings well before October 7th, but senior levels discounted them amid cognitive bias and overconfidence in tech surveillance—an institutional failure Israel’s own reviews now acknowledge. In one instance, Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid recalled that Netanyahu appeared “…bored and indifferent to the issue…” when he was warned for more than a year that his government’s policies had weakened Israel’s deterrence and that Palestinian resistance groups believed their “moment had arrived.” [21]
Netanyahu was facing severe internal dissent as a corruption trial was scheduled throughout October 2023. The trial was stalled following the attack. The trial is being periodically delayed due to national security concerns, war operations, and Netanyahu’s role as prime minister. At times he has confirmed military operations during trial days or used security as justification for postponement. [22]
- “If Only There Was No Hamas There Would Be Peace”
History shows otherwise. In January 2018, a Facebook post by Palestinian journalist and poet Ahmed Abu Artema prompted a widespread protest movement. Abu Artema called on Palestinian refugees to gather peacefully near the fence with Israel and attempt to return to their pre-1948 homes. His call led to weekly Friday protests, which became known as the “Great March of Return” rallies. It ended in disaster. A UN inquiry found Israeli forces killed 183 protesters in 2018 and wounded 6,100 with live fire, including children, medics, journalists, and disabled people. Across two years, about 223 were killed. Witnesses described snipers targeting clearly marked civilians. A peaceful march ended in massacre—not because of Hamas, but because of Israel’s rules of engagement. [23]
Hamas doesn’t rule the West Bank, yet violence there has surged. Since October 7th, the UN reports at least 1000 Palestinians killed and tens of thousands displaced by Israeli raids, demolitions, and settler attacks. [24] OCHA and Reuters confirm record casualties and displacement in 2025. The data and witness accounts before October 7th are even more damning. This proves that Israeli repression continues even where Hamas has no authority.
The growing consensus is that if there is no occupation, no apartheid Jewish supremacist state, no Israel — there will be peace. Calls for a settler state to be dismantled has not been a controversial position; when global resistance surged against the racially segregated South African state it was a popular rallying cry. Nations do not have an inherent right to exist — people do. Israel’s legitimacy is under serious threat as the moral foundations and practical consequences of Jewish supremacy continue to shock the world.
- “Hamas and the Palestinians Are Anti-Semitic”
“Making Aliyah” is when predominantly European, American, North African and Iranian citizens — with or without Jewish ancestry — prepare to immigrate to Occupied Palestine based on the belief that they were promised foreign land thousands of years ago. Those with more secular tendencies believe that they are inhabiting a “land without a people for a people without a land,” while others believe they are simply a civilising outpost of the West in a barbaric, Middle Eastern neighbourhood.
The natives in Palestine are not simply Arabs but direct descendants of Canaanites, Amorites, Edomites, Egyptians (from the Bronze Age), Philistines, Moabites, Hittites and later, even Israelites (some of who remained in the land and did not migrate with majority of Israelites after the Babylonian exile and sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans). The native Palestinians, composed of many semitic tribes, predominantly adopted Islam after the Arab conquests of the 7th Century.
Considering this, the Palestinians find themselves in the most peculiar situation, where their struggle for liberation against Western settlers is framed as a battle between semites and antisemites. Controversially, the only context in which the evidence supports such an argument is one where Palestinians are acknowledged as Semites and the Eastern Europeans with some Jewish ancestry, as the anti-semites. Interestingly, DNA ancestry kits are banned for Israelis, unless acquired through a court order. [25]
Framing Palestinian resistance as anti-Semitism conflates opposition to Zionism with an irrational hatred of Jews. Polling and scholarship (e.g., Rashid Khalidi, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine) show Palestinians oppose settler-colonialism and military occupation, not Judaism. There is little doubt, any other group that carried out the actions of Israelis would have faced exactly the same resistance. Moreover, Jewish anti-Zionist groups such as Neturei Karta and Jewish Voice for Peace echo Palestinian critiques. The charge of anti-Semitism often operates as a shield against scrutiny of Israeli policies, rather than an accurate reflection of Palestinian beliefs.
Opposition to Zionism or Israeli state policy is not inherently antisemitic per the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (endorsed by hundreds of scholars). Significant Jewish groups (e.g., Jewish Voice for Peace; Independent Jewish Voices) also articulate anti-Zionist positions. Blanket assertions of Palestinian antisemitism elude this distinction and are often used to chill scrutiny of Israeli conduct. This is not to deny that hatred of Jews for their religion or ethnicity does not exist or is unequivocally wrong. Historically, antisemitism is a distinctly European phenomenon that cannot be superimposed to completely different contexts. It has become weaponized by Israeli and Western politicians alike to misrepresent real grievances in Palestine and aggressively censor dissent for those who question Zionist policy. Sadly, the weaponisation of antisemitism harms cases of genuine racism towards Jews.
Meanwhile, Zionists in and out of Israel are responsible for some of the most anti-Islamic lobbying the world has even seen. Top Republican donor and TikTok investor Jeff Yass is connected to over $16 million in funding to anti-Muslim and pro-Israel groups that have advocated for a US war with Iran and other militaristic policies in the Middle East, according to an investigation by the Guardian and Responsible Statecraft.
A 2015 report by the International Jewish anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) found that Israel and its supporters had pumped over $300 million into Islamophobic, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian efforts at the time. Hatem Bazian, a lecturer at UC Berkeley and a prominent researcher on Islamophobia, has estimated that about 70% of Islamophobia funding in the US comes from Zionist sources. [26]
Conclusions
The pattern is undeniable: Israel has repeatedly pushed unverified atrocity stories—“40 beheaded babies,” “babies in ovens,” “mass rapes,” “Hamas burning civilians alive”—that collapsed under scrutiny. Each one was designed to dehumanize Palestinians, inflame Western audiences, and secure cover for the mass killing of civilians in Gaza.
At the same time, Israel’s own actions—indiscriminate bombing, starvation as a weapon, mass detention of children, systemic displacement in the West Bank, and confirmed use of the Hannibal Directive killing its own citizens—far exceed the crimes it accuses Hamas of. Each accusation has become a crime that Israel is itself guilty of, repeatedly. The International Court of Justice and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have both recognised Israel’s campaign in Gaza as genocidal, while UN agencies confirm deliberate famine conditions.
Even in places with no Hamas presence, like the West Bank, Palestinians are still killed, arrested, and expelled. This proves the issue has never been Hamas alone, but the occupation itself. Jewish groups worldwide—Jewish Voice for Peace, Neturei Karta, Independent Jewish Voices—affirm that opposing Zionism and apartheid is not antisemitism.
The truth is simple: Israel’s atrocity propaganda serves one purpose—to strip Palestinians of their humanity so their suffering can be justified. But the evidence shows the opposite: the road to peace is not through eliminating Hamas, but through ending occupation, dismantling apartheid, and holding Israel accountable for its crimes. Whether the lesson is learnt before Israel and its allies face a seismic backlash that will reshape the political map of the world is to be seen.
[1] Joe Biden Keeps Repeating False Claim He Saw Photos of Beheaded Babies
[3] Skewering History: The Odious Politics of Counting Gaza’s Dead by Dr Richard Hil and Dr Gideon Polya
[4] Israel: White Phosphorus Used in Gaza, Lebanon | Human Rights Watch
[5] Israel accuses Hamas of brutality which Zionists inflicted on Palestinians – TRT World
[7] https://theintercept.com/2024/08/09/israel-prison-sde-teiman-palestinian-abuse-torture/
[8] Israeli protesters rally for ‘the right to rape’ prisoners | Gaza | Al Jazeera
[9] 41 percent of Palestinian child detainees have no charges | Defense for Children Palestine
[10] Famine confirmed for first time in Gaza
[11] Israel ‘has the right’ to withhold power and water from Gaza, says Sir Keir Starmer | LBC
[12] Israel announces ‘total’ blockade on Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
[13] In Gaza, the Israelis are staging Hunger Games | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera
[15] How Israel killed hundreds of its own people on 7 October | The Electronic Intifada
[16] Army was ordered to kill Israelis on 7 October, defense minister confirms | The Electronic Intifada
[18] Israel says ‘high probability’ its own airstrike killed 3 hostages in Gaza last November | PBS News
[19] Killing of Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim, and Samer Talalka – Wikipedia
[20] Netanyahu derailed a potential Gaza hostage deal in July, Israeli newspaper reports | CNN
[23] Six Months On: Gaza’s Great March of Return – Amnesty International
[25] Want to fully understand your family genealogy? Not without a court order | The Jerusalem Post
[26] Jewish Federations and Diller Foundation Are Funding Islamophobia! | Hatem Bazian
