One of the primary complaints we hear from the pro-Hamas crowd involves the danger to innocent children and babies during the ongoing fighting in Gaza. “Think of the children!” It’s one of the most common lines of rhetorical attack coming from those advocating a ceasefire and the subsequent defeat of Israel. But new evidence suggests that not all of the children are really that “innocent” when it comes to the Palestinians. The Free Beacon reports this week that videos recorded during the October 7 terror attacks show the Hamas fighters following children into various Israeli neighborhoods. Some of them were as young as ten, and they were laughing and pointing out victims to be murdered or kidnapped. Some young women were also involved. It’s simply shocking.

Eran Smilansky, a 28-year-old potato farmer, watched Gazan children go from house to house in his kibbutz on Oct. 7. Hamas terrorists followed. The boys laughed as the gunmen shot or dragged away Israeli families.

“They were like young, young kids,” said Smilansky, who defended his home from terrorists for more than six hours that day. “They were going in front of the terrorists, laughing with their friends and looking very calm. I remember thinking, What the f***?”

Smilansky was one of a dozen survivors of the Nir Oz massacre who told the Washington Free Beacon they witnessed boys or women from the Gaza Strip looting the kibbutz, helping the armed terrorists, and apparently enjoying themselves. The youngest children were around 10 years old, according to several of the survivors, one of whom provided photographs of some of the women and children he saw.

Here’s one of the videos. The women and children, some of whom were riding bicycles stolen from the slain Jewish families, are highlighted in green.

These young people are what one professor from Tel Aviv University referred to as the Palestinian Gen-Z. Hamas has “weaponized” an entire generation of young Palestinians using the schools, mosques, and community centers. They are taught that the Jews are evil and willing to kill them in their sleep, so their destiny is to become martyrs and eradicate the Jewish state.

Of course, we had already been made aware of that radicalization process. The IDF previously released some of Hamas’ propaganda designed to prepare very young children for a life fighting against the Jewish people. It’s horrifying, evil material, but it’s also easy to see how they can warp those young minds. But even knowing all of that, I hadn’t imagined that these monsters were actually sending little children in on the front lines of the attacks.

Eyal Barad and his family managed to survive the October 7 attack in Nir Oz by sheltering in a safe room they constructed for that purpose. A security camera installed outside the house captured the advance of Hamas through their village. The video shows uniformed Hamas fighters, but also armed civilians with young women and children mixed in with them. It almost looks as if they’re heading out for a picnic in the park rather than a murderous rampage. Some of the children can be seen being sent by the fighters into homes that had been “cleared” so they can loot them.

There are many more disturbing stories from survivors in the linked report. They all recount similar, horrifying observations involving children and young women participating in the violent mayhem. The reality is that there is likely no way to “reprogram” these Palestinian children by the time they are ready to start elementary school. (Assuming a school can be found.) They are already indoctrinated into the Hamas cult of hate.

That makes Israel’s job all the more complicated as they continue to clear out Gaza City. The IDF is constantly being cautioned or scolded by the rest of the world to ensure that there are “pauses” and corridors so the “innocent civilians and children” can escape. And they’re doing just that every day. But most of the people they are saving – including the children – probably hate them and would stick a knife in their backs if they had the opportunity.