Arab MK claims child murdered by Hamas rockets was killed by IDF

Hadash-Ta'al MK Ahmad Tibi sparked outrage on Tuesday by claiming that an Israeli child killed by Hamas rocket fire was actually killed by the IDF.

Earlier in the day, Israeli journalist Yehuda Schlesinger posted on X, formerly Twitter, that "The IDF does not blow up homes with children." 

In response, Tibi posted three messages of children and babies and wrote "Except for when it does."

Among these photos, however, was Ido Avigal, a five-year-old Israeli from Sderot who was killed when a Hamas rocket struck their home in May 2021, during the Operation Guardian of the Walls conflict between the IDF and the Gaza-based terrorist group.

The attack also wounded Ido's seven-year-old sister, his mother Shani, and five members of his extended family. 

Shani Avigal took to social media to react to Tibi's post.

הי אחמד מה נשמע, שומע? זה סבבה לגמרי לקחת כל מיני ילדים, לשים אותם בתמונה אחת ולספר לעולם שצהל הרג אותם, אבל יש מצב אתה מוריד את התמונה של הילד שלי משם? אני די בטוחה שחמאס רצחו אותו, ופצעו את הבת שלי, וגם את האחיינים שלי, וגם אותי אבל אני לא ילדה אז שיהיה. אה כן, הם ירו לבית! pic.twitter.com/JY66pJJrph

— שני אביגל shani avigal (@Shani_avigal) September 19, 2023

"It's cool to take pictures of different children, put them all together, and then tell the world the IDF killed them, but could you possibly take my child's picture down?" Shani wrote. "I'm pretty sure Hamas murdered him, and wounded my daughter, and my nephews, and me, but I'm not a child of course. Oh right! They fired at our home!"

Other politicians weighed in on Tibi's post.

Politicians bash Ahmad Tibi for social media post

"Ahmad Tibi the terrorist," wrote National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. "How are you not ashamed to use the photo of a pure Jewish boy who was murdered by your friends from Hamas? It is an embarrassment that you are part of the Knesset."

אחמד טיבי המחבל - איך אתה לא מתבייש להשתמש בתמונה של ילד יהודי טהור שנרצח בידי חבריך מהחמאס? בושה שאתה חלק מכנסת ישראל. https://t.co/Km55iJL3l2

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) September 19, 2023

"Ahmad Tibi, you are still a member of the Knesset. You exaggerate!" wrote Religious Zionist Party MK Michal Woldiger. 

"Publishing a photo of Ido Avigal, who was killed by a rocket fired by Hamas at his home, and say he was someone killed by the IDF?! And you know very well that the IDF is the most moral army in the world. For you, your ends justify the means, even if the means include distorting information about the deaths of children. Shame on you!"

Later in the day, Tibi edited his initial post to remove the picture. 

חוץ מאלה שכן..( מחקתי את התמונה הראשונה מתוך כבוד לבקשת אמא שכולה , אמו של עידו ז״ל שהזכרתי אותו כמה פעמים בשנים האחרונות.)ילד הוא ילד הוא ילד . הרג ילדים הוא נורא . פלסטינים וישראלים. זה עדיין לא משנה את העובדה שהצבא ירה והרג מאות ילדים פלסטינים בשנים האחרונות. יש טייסת קרב… https://t.co/rtqAvRcWmN pic.twitter.com/EFunobED8I

— Ahmad Tibi (@Ahmad_tibi) September 19, 2023

"A child is a child is a child," he wrote. "Killing children is terrible. Palestinians and Israelis. This still doesn't change the fact that the army has killed hundreds of Palestinian children in recent years."