By Turgut Alp Boyraz
SDEROT, Israel (AA) – Israeli journalist Oren Ziv has said that false claims of Hamas group "beheading babies" will be used by the Israeli military to "legitimize" war crimes committed in Gaza.
Last Saturday, the Israeli army organized a press tour to southern Israeli kibbutz, Kfar Aza, one of the locations where Palestinian groups had attacked.
During the tour, one of the journalists spoke with some Israeli soldiers, citing them as sources, and reported that the soldiers said, "Hamas beheaded babies here."
However, officials from the Israeli army, reached by an Anadolu correspondent, said that they had no information to confirm such an allegation.
After the denial, some journalists who had shared the claim found themselves in a position where they had to apologize.
Ziv, who participated in the press tour in Kfar Aza, said that many people had contacted him with questions about the allegations.
In a statement on his social media account, Ziv said: "During the press tour, we saw no evidence of baby beheadings, and the Israeli army spokesperson or commanders did not mention such a thing to us."
However, Ziv also mentioned that this false allegation would be used by Israel, stating: "It is unfortunate that Israel will now use these false claims to escalate attacks (on Gaza) and legitimize the war crimes it will commit there."
The Israeli journalist described the scene they witnessed during the press tour as "horrific," saying that they saw the bodies of dozens of Israelis.
In a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began last Saturday when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.
Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.