Prof. Anne Bayefsky: 'Spreading lie that Israel murdered a child not just a mistake'

"Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, an eight-year-old Gazan boy, was found alive after a rescue operation was launched by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation following reports that IDF forces had killed Abdul, reports that were confirmed to be false when he was found safe and sound.

Professor Anne Bayefsky, President of Human Rights Voices and Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News that the episode is indicative of a larger problem of lies being told about Israeli actions in Gaza during the war against the Hamas terrorist organization.

Prof. Bayefsky explained: ‘The Palestinians and their NGO and UN enablers have lied about the facts from day one. Blood libels that incentivize mass murder are their stock in trade. (1) They lie about civilian casualties, purposefully conflating terrorists, combatants and civilians. (2) They lie about a non-existent genocide. (3) They lie about Israel targeting civilian infrastructure like hospitals and omit that Hamas has illegally turned them into military staging grounds or hit them with their own misfired rockets. (4) They lie about Israel targeting innocent journalists, who are actually terrorists. (5) They spread fake photos of allegedly starving Palestinian children with pre-existing conditions. Spreading the lie that Israel murdered an innocent child is not just a mistake, it does immense harm that resonates on a global scale.’

‘The worst of it, however, is that these lies are heard, and media corrections are never made or long in coming. It’s lethal antisemitism and it’s working,’ she said.

Abdul, who is more commonly referred to by his nickname Abboud, became the focal point of a viral claim made by former GHF contractor Anthony Aguila. Aguilar had alleged that the child, whom he called ‘Amir,’ was killed by Israeli forces outside a GHF aid distribution center on May 28. The account, accompanied by body camera footage and a detailed emotional narrative, was widely shared across media platforms and even discussed by members of the US Congress.

However, videos obtained by the Daily Wire in August showed a woman who claimed to be the boy's stepmother stating that ‘Amir’ was still alive two months after the day Aguilar claimed he was killed. The GHF also denied that the event had taken place, and Aguilar's account was found to be inconsistent with the video of the boy taken that day.

Following a careful investigation that spanned several weeks, the GHF located Abboud alive with his mother, Najlaa. The two reappeared at a GHF Secure Distribution Site (SDS 3) on August 23, after which they were quietly extracted from Gaza to an undisclosed location for their protection. ‘Outside the Gaza Strip is nice,’ Abboud was quoted as saying, according to a translated interview verified by Fox News."