Israeli army commander silent on beheading of babies claim at press conference

By Busranur Koca

The commander of Israeli army's search and rescue on Thursday avoided revealing details regarding their claim of babies being beheaded by Palestinian group Hamas during the weekend's surprise attack.

At an online press conference, correspondents were not allowed to delve into the allegations made by the Israeli prime minister's office.

The journalists who insisted that they had a right to be informed on the matter and repeated their questions were given a stern warning by the moderator, and threatened to be silenced.

Col. Golan Vach said on the Israeli side he counted more than 1,000 dead and more than 4,000 wounded, and that they were ready for the “next stage.”

Responding to a question asked about the allegations of babies being decapitated, the commander claimed he personally "saw the bodies of a brutally murdered baby, women and young people" in different areas.

Asked for evidence, he said: "I didn't take a picture of the baby, but I have a lot of pictures that you wouldn't want to see."

Questioned whether the state in which the baby was found was definitely done using a knife, he said: "I don't know if this question should have been asked. Because when you see a baby like this, it doesn't matter how it happened."

Correspondents who continued to ask related questions, stressing that details of the incident are important, were accused of showing disrespect.

With the increase in tension, the online briefing was cut short.

*Writing by Merve Berker