Israel publishes picture of baby murdered by Hamas

On Thursday, Israel launched twin air strikes on Syria’s Aleppo and Damascus airports in an attempt to stem the flow of weapons to Lebanese faction Hizbollah, which the West is trying to deter from joining the war.

The US also moved to block $6 billion (£4.9 billion) in Iranian assets that had been due to be sent to Tehran, Israel’s arch-foe in the region, under a prisoner swap deal.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Foreign Office said it had “temporarily” withdrawn the families of staff at its embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem as a “precautionary” measure over escalating regional tension.

In the UK, the Metropolitan Police said it would not ban flying the Palestinian flag at demonstrations ahead of a pro-Palestine rally in London on Saturday.

On Thursday, France banned all pro-Palestine demonstrations, but police later clashed with protesters in Paris.

Nato defence ministers were also shown “harrowing” images of bloodied babies and beheaded victims of the Hamas terror attack by their Israeli counterpart on Thursday.

Yoav Gallant showed them largely uncensored footage of the Islamist group’s massacre of civilians in an attempt to galvanise the alliance’s support for Israel, Western diplomats told The Telegraph.

Sources described how they were left sickened by the images and videos that were “very difficult to watch”.

Sources said that one of the pictures appeared to show the bloodied body of a child killed as Hamas terrorists stormed villages near the border with Gaza. 

“It really brought the situation home,” said another source.

Most of the victims had their faces blurred to protect their dignity. It is not known if the diplomats were shown the image released publicly.

In a speech to his Nato counterparts, Mr Gallant said: “I walked from house to house. And saw the bodies of our pioneers, the Holocaust survivors, burned alive. Children were tied up and shot. Yes, I repeat – children tied up and shot.

“Young girls were raped violently, and kidnapped or killed. They were dragged to Gaza, to the sound of cheering, while blood was dripping down their legs. 

“A peace music festival, with 3,000 young people, became a bloodbath. Dozens of citizens from your countries have been murdered or kidnapped.”

In a statement after their one-hour meeting with Mr Gallant, Nato allies said they “condemned the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel”.

Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, said: “Israel has the right to defend itself, and as the conflict unfolds, the protection of civilians is essential. Israel does not stand alone.”

Earlier reports of child casualties in the Hamas massacre had suggested babies and/or children had been beheaded by Hamas.

On Wednesday night, Joe Biden, the US president, said: “I never really thought that I would see, have confirmed, pictures of terrorists beheading children.”

The White House later clarified that Mr Biden had not seen such evidence and was basing his remarks on Israeli media reports and comments by the Israeli government.

Israeli military officials have previously said that small children were killed in the Hamas massacre, but this is the first time that photographic evidence of a baby’s murder has been published.

Israeli military officials have also confirmed that babies and children were indeed murdered – and beheaded – during the Hamas massacre. They have identified the scene of that crime as Be’eri, a small kibbutz in southern Israel.