An Israeli official denied what an army officer claimed about the killing of 8 infants and a woman (a survivor of Nazi camps) in the Be’eri settlement adjacent to the Gaza Strip during an attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7, in reference to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported statements by a spokesman for the Be’eri settlement – which it did not mention his name – on Sunday, during which he denied the allegations. He said that nearly 100 people were killed in Be’eri and that residents faced hundreds of tragic incidents on that Black Saturday, as he put it.
But he added: “However, incidents such as the killing of 8 infants or a Holocaust survivor named Genia did not happen.”
For its part, the newspaper said that Lieutenant Colonel Guy Basson, deputy commander of the Kfir Brigade in the Israeli army, claimed that 8 infants were killed in Be’eri, and that “a Holocaust survivor” named Jenia was also killed.
Haaretz denied Basson’s statement, saying that “these incidents described in the interview with Israeli Channel 14, which was broadcast on Saturday evening, never happened.”
The newspaper also said that there is absolutely no “Holocaust survivor” named Genia in Be’eri.
Haaretz quoted the Israeli army as saying – commenting on these allegations – that, “The aforementioned events will be investigated. There was no intention to describe a reality that did not happen, and we apologize if anyone feels insulted. We will set the record straight and make clear to everyone involved the media effort.”
For its part, Channel 14 refused to comment on the allegations it presented to the Israeli officer, according to Haaretz.
Since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, the Israeli media – followed by some international media – have published numerous allegations about what happened that day, which were later proven to be false, including lies about the beheading of children and the rape of women.