Investigation exposes “Israeli” group spreading disinformation on Oct. 7
An investigation into ZAKA, a Jerusalem-based rescue unit operated by ultra-Orthodox extremist jewish volunteers, which took part in the clean-up operations in the aftermath of the events of Oct. 7, 2023, revealed that the group used “dead people as props,” in addition to spreading disinformation - a report by Haaretz revealed.
One case involved 10 members of the rescue group sitting around a dead body, eating and relaxing while leaving the body bag in the corner of the room. When asked why they weren’t transferring the body into an ambulance which is parked just across the street - they replied that it would be “taken care of later.”
According to observers who were not part of ZAKA, the volunteers staged a scenario using the dead body, and used it to make video calls to gather donations.
ZAKA is in debt for millions of shekels, and has unethically employed the events of Oct. 7 for donations and gathering funds by spreading disinformation, staging fake scenarios using body bags.
The investigation has revealed that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) cooperated with ZAKA, and has relied on the group for search and rescue missions. In fact, the Israeli Occupation did not deploy the Home Front Command Unit, which is responsible for Civil Defense duties, and relied on Zaka in the first week after Oct. 7 in addition to receiving payments from the Israeli Occupation Ministry of Defense.
"I have no explanation for why they didn't deploy the Home Front Command's unit and our people from the north," said an “Israeli” officer in the Military Rabbinate's northern search unit.
In efforts to garner sympathy, ZAKA volunteers spread information of “atrocities” that did not happen, and released sensitive and graphic photos all while acting in an unprofessional manner.
Sources said that they received body bags from ZAKA with no documentation whatsoever, and sometimes with body parts attached to it that belonged to other individuals, they added that some bags came with two skulls, and others with two hands that were different from each other.
The organization also shot a music video within the Kibbutz, and later released it for a fundraising campaign. It also organized private tours for donors and civilians.
One incident that was reported of the alleged atrocities of Oct. 7, simply did not happen at all. One volunteer claimed that she found a 30-year-old pregnant woman in a pool of her own blood and that her unborn child got stabbed and the mother got shot in the head afterwards.
A Zaka senior official admitted in a conversation with Haaretz that the organization knows the incident didn't occur.
The same volunteer later fabricated another story of how over 20 children got murdered and mutilated. However, the volunteer used two different locations when narrating his story .
ZAKA has been accused in Dec. 2022 of spreading disinformation. Another Haaretz investigation revealed that the organization tampers with its numbers in order to gather funding.
