ISRAEL is facing a war not just against terror, but disinformation.

The country’s defence forces were forced to show the horrifying last moments of families and festival-goers slaughtered in the massacre by Hamas to combat propaganda.

What kind of world do we live in when people believe authorities would lie about babies being beheaded, children shot and old people kidnapped from their homes?

The spread of lies has made lives dangerous for Jewish people around the world – just look at how quickly it was accepted Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza.

The United States, Britain, Canada, France and Italy all agree that the strike did not come from Israel, but the damage to the reputation of Israel has been done.

On social media, Hamas supporters peddle lies about the conflict.

Reuters’ fact-checking unit has identified posts using fake images and information to cause confusion and heightening tensions.

Among the videos is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin with fabricated subtitles allegedly warning America not to get involved in the war. 

From a Gazan perspective, another shows the lynching of a teenager in Guatemala which purports to be an Israeli woman being killed by a ‘Palestinian mob’.

With so much disinformation on both sides, it’s understandable people are misled, but it’s dangerous when they refuse to believe official statements from people actually on the ground.

This week I was one of the journalists who watched the harrowing scenes of Hamas killing innocents.

I was one of 100 journalists brought together at the Israeli Defence Force’s military base north of Tel Aviv where we were shown a compilation of material from Hamas go-pro cameras.

What I saw sickened me.

One terrorist screamed “Allahu Akhbar” as he attempted to behead a dead man with a shovel.

At the Kibbutz Be’eri, on the Gazan border, disturbing footage showed a father and his two sons, roughly seven and nine, run out of their house, drawn by the explosions outside.

The dad ran into a bomb shelter to hide and a Hamas terrorist threw a grenade, instantly killing the dad.

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As the two children came out of the shelter with blood on their hands, one unable to see because of the blast, they ran back into their house only to be followed by Hamas.

One terrorist opens the fridge to drink from a water bottle, asking the boys: “Do you want some?” It was like nothing had happened.

Another scene showed a terrorist leaning under a table to talk to a little girl before shooting her dead.

At the festival where at least 260 people were brutally murdered, Hamas shot portable toilets one by one in a bid to kill anyone hiding inside. Around them, panicked young people ran away screaming.

Chillingly, a voice recording revealed a conversation between a Hamas terrorist and his parents.

“I’ve killed 10 Jews with my bare hands,” he tells his mother. “Check your Whatsapp.”

Instead of being disturbed by her son’s actions, she replies: “May God protect you.”

Other images show a small body burned beyond recognition and a baby covered in blood.

We were five minutes into the 45 minute screening and I was already shaking, barely able to write notes. A colleague from an American TV channel started weeping as the horror show continued. 

After about 35 minutes I left the auditorium, convinced I’d seen enough evidence of the atrocities eyewitnesses have already described to me. 

Under normal circumstances, journalists wouldn’t be exposed to these kinds of images – a job left to forensics.

But the intense backlash over what many regard as “Israeli propaganda” and unreliable eyewitnesses has left the Israeli government no choice but to arrange this absurd screening of unspeakable atrocities.

Imagine how the released hostages must feel about this?

The question is, will people around the world still question whether this happened? 

If they do, I truly don’t know what to say anymore.

Jotam Confino is the foreign editor of Jewish News in the UK.