Israeli media has debunked the ultra-Orthodox group Zaka’s gruesome October 7 atrocity stories, but the American press won’t do it.

Zaka stories have been essential to justifying Israel’s all-out war against Gaza, which has killed around 30,000 Palestinians in less than five months. Speaking at the United Nations in December, Zaka deputy commander Simcha Greiniman broke down while describing alleged atrocities. He later told the same stories to a meeting of British parliamentarians.

Even when Western media outlets have questioned Landau, the inquiries were half-hearted. The Times asked Landau “about reports, attributed to him, that children had been beheaded on Oct. 7.” It reported: “Mr. Landau denied making the claim, though he acknowledged sometimes misspeaking in the immediate aftermath of the attack. What he saw himself, he said, was a small, burned body with at least part of the head missing, perhaps severed by the force of a blast. It was unclear, he added, if it was the body of teenager or someone younger.”

While the Times said the statements had been “attributed” to Landau, there is no dispute he said them. He told the stories on camera, and the clips were posted widely online. He told CNN he found “a body, of a 14, 15-year-old. Head chopped off. We were looking around for the head. Couldn’t find it.” On India’s Republic TV, Landau said of beheaded children, “Yes, this occurred. This happened.” He made similar comments to Channel 14 Israel and CBS News. There is no evidence Hamas beheaded children or babies. As The Intercept reported at the time, the Israeli military said it couldn’t confirm the claims just four days after the attack.

Media outlets, including Israeli television news programs, have debunked numerous stories about dead babies, calling them “fictional.”

    • @FlowVoidEnglish
      -2•10 months ago

      Again, the article does not claim that no rapes occurred:

      The question has never been whether individual acts of sexual assault may have occurred on October 7. Rape is not uncommon in war

      It argues that the NYT violated its editorial standards, which is an entirely different question.

      It also tries to cast doubt on Cohen’s eyewitness account, but I find it unpersuasive. First it points out that Cohen said “The terrorists, people from Gaza, raped girls” but only described one incident. Big deal. This was not a deposition. People often generalize, especially about shocking things. People say things like “Putin kills his political opponents” and “Trump rapes women” even if they only know about Navalny and Carroll.

      It also points out that Cohen’s companion saw a woman stabbed whereas Cohen saw a woman raped and stabbed. Again, unpersuasive. They weren’t shooting a documentary, they were hiding. It’s entirely possible they saw different parts of an event, or even different women. If you read eyewitness accounts of the Parkland shooting you will find that not everyone mentions the exact same details, but that certainly doesn’t mean they are liars.

      • @LinkerbaanOPEnglish
        -2•10 months ago

        If I claim you raped someone, I have to provide evidence. I can’t say “prove to me that you didn’t rape someone”

        The article claims that there is no evidence for any rapes occurring. Which means that it did not occur.

        If mass rape had really occurred then it should be really easy to find a single piece of evidence.

        • @FlowVoidEnglish
          1•10 months ago

          Eyewitness accounts are evidence.

          In fact for rape prosecutions, they are often the only evidence.

          • @LinkerbaanOPEnglish
            -4•10 months ago

            This is true. Which is why the Palestinians women that were raped by the IDF were actually raped by the IDF.

            The problem is that after so many false israeli “eyewitnesses” it’s rather difficult to take one of them who was not even involved in the huge false investigation by NYT where they turned over every rock to find made up rape fanfics seriously.

            • @FlowVoidEnglish
              1•10 months ago

              Who are the “false eyewitnesses”?

              Your article only mentioned one eyewitness, Raz Cohen. Everyone else interviewed for the article was not actually there on 10/7.

              • @LinkerbaanOPEnglish
                -3•10 months ago

                Israeli police “key witness” quoted by Times made impossible claims; evidence is elusive

                You describe a 24-year-old accountant identified as “Sapir” as “one of the Israeli police’s key witnesses.”

                Yet one of Sapir’s key claims undermines the rest of her testimony. According to the Times, “she saw three other women raped and terrorists carrying the severed heads of three more women.”

                Given that no record exists of women being beheaded on October 7, why did you include this claim from Sapir? Does such an assertion not undermine her credibility and raise doubts about the rest of her testimony? And why, at minimum, did you not mention that there is no forensic evidence to support Sapir’s claim?

                Testimony by supposed paramedic debunked by official records, previous record of lying to media

                You write, “A paramedic in an Israeli commando unit said that he had found the bodies of two teenage girls in a room in Be’eri. One was lying on her side, he said, boxer shorts ripped, bruises by her groin. The other was sprawled on the floor face down, he said, pajama pants pulled to her knees, bottom exposed, semen smeared on her back.”

                You report that the paramedic conveniently “kept moving and did not document the scene.” However, “neighbors of the two girls killed — who were sisters, 13 and 16 — said their bodies had been found alone, separated from the rest of their family.”

                That paramedic appears to be the same source CNN relied on in its own special report accusing Hamas of a systematic and deliberate campaign of rape on October 7. He is a supposed paramedic from Israeli Air Force Special Tactics rescue unit 669 identified only as “G.” And like your other sources, he has proven to be an unreliable, if not deeply dishonest, witness.

                Times’ “rescuer” source has established pattern of lying, embellishment; works for group with documented history of sexual abuse, corruption

                You prominently feature testimony by Yossi Landau, Southern Commander of the ZAKA organization. For critical background on Landau and his organization, we refer you to Max Blumenthal’s December 6 investigation for The Grayzone, “Scandal-stained Israeli ‘rescue’ group fuels October 7 fabrications.”

                Were you aware, as The Grayzone documented, that Landau’s previous claims of having seen beheaded babies and a fetus cut from a dead woman’s womb on October 7 have been discredited not only by the Israeli newspaper by Haaretz, but by the Biden White House, which retracted the president’s claim that he had seen photographs of beheaded babies? In fact, only one baby is recorded among those killed on October 7, which means any claim to have seen multiple dead babies must be dismissed out of hand.

                • @FlowVoidEnglish
                  1•10 months ago

                  Two of those are not eyewitnesses, they arrived after the attack.

                  And why is “Sapir” untrustworthy? We know Israelis were beheaded on 10/7, there is even video footage.

                  • @LinkerbaanOPEnglish
                    -2•10 months ago

                    No women were beheaded on Oct7. Only two men were mutilated. Which means Sapir’s claims were false. The amount of heads is also impossible as three is more than two.

                    I have clicked on your link but it’s just footage of some people talking