'Massacre' Reported at Kfar Aza Kibbutz in Israel

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Facts

• The bodies of dozens of Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters have reportedly been found at Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel just east of the border with Gaza. The Israeli military took foreign press through the site of the farming community on Tuesday while soldiers went house to house to take away the deceased.¹
• Major General Itai Veruv of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) — who described the scene as a 'massacre' — said troops under his command spent 'about 48 hours' fighting Hamas militants before finally clearing the area.²
• Some reports suggested that as many as 40 babies were killed and that some of them were beheaded. However, the allegations appear to stem from a single reporter — Nicole Zedeck of the Israeli broadcaster i24 News — and the IDF has yet to publicly confirm the claim. Other reporters at Kfar Aza said they didn't see evidence of beheadings and that none of the officials they spoke to mentioned anything of that nature.³
• Four days after Hamas launched its surprise attack, Israeli health officials said that the death toll had risen to 1.2K. Another 3K people were reported injured. The fate of 150 people who were taken hostage also remains unknown.⁴
• Meanwhile, as Israel continued its aerial bombardment of Gaza in retaliation on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said that over 1K people had been killed. Aid groups have warned of a humanitarian disaster after Israel stopped the entry of food, water, fuel, and medicine into the territory. A UN agency for Palestinian refugees has also said that nine of its staff members were killed since Saturday.⁵
• Elsewhere, after Hezbollah in Lebanon — which has ties to Iran — launched anti-tank guided missiles at an Israeli army post on the northern border on Wednesday, the IDF said it had responded with drone strikes and artillery fire. Cross-border attacks in both directions were also reported on Tuesday.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²CNN, ³Mediaite, ⁴The times of israel (a), ⁵Associated Press and ⁶The times of israel (b).

Narratives

• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by I24news. Hamas terrorists committed unspeakable crimes at the Kfar Aza kibbutz, which reportedly included horrific and ghastly actions against extremely young children. These atrocities fully justify the firm Israeli response in Gaza to conduct operations against Hamas and urgently rescue hostages.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle east eye. This tragic violence was incubated after decades of death and destruction imposed on Palestinians by Israel, which made Gaza into a veritable open-air prison. Israel will now impose a fierce 'retaliation,' which will not be condemned equally — showing the deep hypocrisy of the West and creating a humanitarian cataclysm.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Mediaite. These reports of beheadings appear to come from a single journalist and have yet to be confirmed by the IDF. That is not to say these actions did not take place, but at these highly charged times, it is paramount to carefully verify the allegations.

Predictions