Biden says he has ‘seen pictures of Hamas terrorists beheading children’ during murderous assault on Israel that left 1,200 dead and says he has NOT given up on saving American hostages – as he warns Iran ‘to be careful’

Joe Biden said on Wednesday he had seen photos from Israel this weekend of ‘terrorists beheading children’ – confirming stories of almost unimaginable horrors by Israeli soldiers.

Biden held a meeting with Jewish community leaders at the White House on Wednesday and said he was shocked by the brutality of the Hamas attack.

At least 1,200 Israelis were killed in Saturday’s massacre, which began when Hamas militants crossed from Gaza into Israel and killed people at a music festival and in their homes near the border.

“This attack was a campaign of pure savagery, not just hatred, but pure cruelty against the Jewish people,” Biden said.

He added: “I never thought I would see and confirm pictures of terrorists beheading children.”

Joe Biden is seen during a roundtable discussion with Jewish community leaders in the Indian Treaty Room at the White House on Wednesday

Hamas left a trail of destruction at a series of kibbutzim near the Gaza border, including children’s beds soaked in blood

His comments end speculation about the veracity of the beheaded children claim, which was originally made by an IDF soldier, David Ben Zion, Deputy Commander of the Israeli army’s Unit 71.

Ben Zion told i24 News: “We went door to door, killed a lot of terrorists. They are very bad. They cut off the heads of children, they cut off the heads of women. But we are stronger than them.”

The IDF later said they could not confirm his account.

But Biden’s statement ended the debate.

He called the Hamas attack on Israel ‘the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust’ and a campaign of ‘pure cruelty’, adding once again that the United States stood solidly with Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said Wednesday that Hamas militants beheaded soldiers and raped women in their attack on Israel.

Netanyahu, in a late-night televised address, detailed some of the atrocities that took place during the attack.

He said that boys and girls were shot in the head and that people were burned alive.

Netanyahu compared Hamas to ISIS and vowed that Israel’s retaliation against the terror group ‘will reverberate with them for generations’.

Biden and Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday, in what was at least the fourth phone call between Biden and Netanyahu since Saturday’s attack.

Biden, after the call, said the Hamas attack was reminiscent of the Holocaust.

“This attack has brought to the surface the painful memories and scars left by a millennium of anti-Semitism and genocide against the Jewish people,” he said.

“And at this point we have to be clear: there is no excuse for terrorism, no justification, and the kind of terrorism that was exhibited here is a little bit off the charts. Beyond the pale.’