A handwritten note discovered on the body of a Hamas terrorist encouraged the fighters to carry out a merciless massacre, including decapitation and dismemberment of the victims' bodies.
The note, announced by IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari in an interview with American television network CBS, contains words of encouragement from the Hamas leadership declaring the religious importance of killing Jews, and imparts inspiration from historical Muslim leaders who massacred men, sold women and children into slavery, and looted cities.
'Removing the hearts and the livers'
The terrorists are encouraged to decapitate heads and remove the hearts and livers of their victims.
"You must sharpen the blades of your swords and be pure in your intentions before Allah. Know that the enemy is a disease that has no cure, except beheading and removing the hearts and livers. Attack them!" the note reads.
Over 1,000 Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel on the morning of October 7, attacking Israeli towns near the Gaza border and IDF bases. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed since the first attack began, with some 220 people also kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Forensic evidence of the victims' bodies and video footage captured by terrorists have shown that Israeli women and children were raped and beheaded while others were dismembered.
Israel has responded by attacking Hamas military targets in Gaza and striking at the Hamas leadership.