The Israeli government has released a graphic photograph that appears to show the body of a baby murdered by Hamas terrorists.
It shows a blood-stained infant, still dressed in a babygrow and nappy, lying inside a small body bag.
The baby’s face has been blurred out. Gloved hands of two Israeli forensic workers in white overalls can be seen in the background.
“This is the most difficult image we’ve ever posted. As we are writing this we are shaking,” the Israeli government’s foreign ministry said in a post on Twitter.
“We went back and forth about posting this, but we need each and every one of you to know. This happened.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, went even further, publishing several other pictures showing the charred remains of infants.
He wrote: “These are horrifying photos of babies murdered and burned by the Hamas monsters. Hamas is inhuman. Hamas is Isis.”
Since the surprise terror attack by Hamas on Saturday, dozens of children are known to have been killed or kidnapped. A total of at least 1,600 people have been killed in Israel so far.
It comes as Israel is pounding Gaza with missiles and troops, while tanks gather for a full ground invasion. The Israeli Air Force said it had so far launched 6,000 bombs in just six days at Gaza.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry said almost 1,500 had been killed, including children.
Mr Netanyahu showed the image of the baby to Anthony Blinken, the United States secretary of state.
Mr Blinken told a press conference: “Images are worth one thousand words, these images may be worth a million.”
The Telegraph was unable to immediately verify the image.
Other world leaders are understood to have been shown similar images in meetings where Israel is privately sharing evidence of the most horrific aspects of Saturday’s atrocity.
Mr Blinken said of the pictures: “It’s hard to find the right words, it’s beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine, much less actually see and God forbid experience.
“A baby, and infants riddled with bullets … Soldiers beheaded, young people burned alive in their cars.
“I could go on but it’s simply depravity in the worst imaginable way, it almost defies comprehension and in the most immediate future harkens back to Isis and some of the things we saw when it was on its rampage, which thankfully was stopped.
“So I think for any human being to see this is really beyond anything we can comprehend or digest.”
He said the terror attack was the “equivalent of 10 9/11s”, adding that Hamas had a “disdain for human life and basic human dignity”.