A Headless Child Was Discovered After Israel Bombed Rafah. Here's What You Need To Know

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In the short video, a distressed man is seen carrying the child with his two hands while other civilians frantically attempt to rescue victims of Israel's bombing.

Screams and ambulance sirens can be heard in the video.

A longer version of the video was later uploaded by Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, a war zone photographer who has been documenting the atrocities he has witnessed since 7 October 2023. Reuters has used his photographs on numerous occasions.

The video went viral globally after Mohammed Fayq shared it on his Instagram account with 707,000 followers.

"The beheading of children in Gaza, the beheading of children in Gaza," wrote Mohammed Fayq in the caption.

Western media outlets, such as The New York Times and CNN, have both referenced the shocking video of the headless child in their recent reports.

Meanwhile, London-based news outlet Middle East Eye reported the sighting of a man holding a headless child, as well as many disfigured and burned bodies at the Rafah displacement camp.

In a report published yesterday, The New York Times reviewed military drone footage, confirming the Israeli forces had launched "munition striking in an area housing several large, cabin-like structures, and parked cars" on Sunday, 26 May.

"Multiple videos from the same location, verified by The New York Times, show fires raging through the night as people frantically pull bodies from the rubble and shout in horror as they carry away charred remains," read a separate report.

The artwork serves as a grim reminder of Israel's recent attack on Palestinian refugees in the encampment located in northwestern Rafah, which was designated as a safe zone.

Many activists and celebrities, including Malaysian songstress Yuna, have used the artwork to condemn war crimes perpetrated by Israeli forces.

"There are no words I can think of to describe how I felt seeing the videos coming from Rafah yesterday. Rafah, where the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) tents are.

"Where Palestinians were told that it was a safe place — and yesterday it was bombed 60 times while children were sleeping.

"This has to end. If you find yourself in a place where you're not sure whether to speak up or not, this is your sign to do it. What else do you need to see? Even when we think we have already seen it all, something even worse happens," wrote Yuna in an Instagram post today, 28 May.

At the time of writing, #IsraelLancau is trending on X. A Malaysian netizen explained that the hashtag containing a Hokkien profanity is used to bypass social media platforms' algorithms, ensuring that their calls for the war to end evade censorship by tech giants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the killing of numerous individuals in the camp as "a tragic incident" on Monday, without indicating any intention to scale back the Israeli offensive in the area.

The Israel Defense Forces said it had killed two "senior Hamas terrorists" in the operation.

His comments came at a particularly delicate time, just three days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah, reported The New York Times.

Israel's actions on Sunday could be interpreted as a defiance of the UN court's decision.