President Joe Biden has a track record of making statements that are factually incorrect, often repeating these inaccuracies. On Wednesday, he appeared to do so again, as reported by The New York Post. Biden initially stated that he had seen “verified images of terrorists beheading children” in southern Israel, following reports of Hamas terrorists allegedly murdering 40 infants over the weekend. However, the White House later clarified his statement.
“I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children. I never thought I’d ever — anyway,” Biden told Jewish group leaders at the White House on Wednesday.
The Washington Post reported that neither President Biden nor other U.S. officials had personally witnessed such images or received independently verified reports of beheaded children, as stated by a White House spokesperson. The White House subsequently clarified that Biden’s statement was based on assertions made by a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with media reports from Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas attack.
The New York Post added:
The sickening reports emerged Tuesday as the Israeli military offered journalists tours of areas ravaged by Hamas’ Saturday morning surprise attack, which left more than 1,200 civilians and Israeli troops dead and about 150 believed abducted — with at least 22 Americans dead and 17 others still unaccounted for.
A senior White House national security aide told reporters immediately following the event that he had not seen the images to which Biden was referring.
A different White House official directed The Post to comments by Tal Heinrich, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told CNN Wednesday that babies and toddlers were found “decapitated” in the community of Kfar Aza.
The Israeli Defense Force has verified this disturbing report in a video released on Thursday through social media.
Yossi Landau, an official from Israel’s volunteer civilian emergency response organization, Zaka, shared with CBS News his personal experience with the tragic incident. Landau confirmed the discovery of babies and children who had been beheaded, stating, “I saw a lot more that cannot be described for now because it’s very hard to describe.”
These chilling events were initially reported by Nicole Zedek, a television reporter for i24NEWS in Tel Aviv, who first revealed the beheadings on Tuesday. Zedek expressed her shock and frustration during a radio interview the following day, defending the allegations against 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, I wish that it wasn’t true.”
Simultaneously, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized members of the far-left “Squad” during a briefing on Tuesday, condemning their comments regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict as “wrong,” “repugnant,” and “disgraceful.”
When asked for the administration’s reaction to comments made by Democrat Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Cori Bush, Jean-Pierre said: “I’ve seen some of those statements this weekend, and we’re going to continue to be very clear. We believe they’re wrong, we believe they’re repugnant, and we believe they’re disgraceful.”
“Our condemnation belongs squarely with terrorists who have brutally murdered, raped, and kidnapped hundreds, hundreds of Israelis. There can be no equivocation about that. There are not two sides here. There are not two sides,” KJP added.
