Israeli authorities released images Thursday of babies they said were killed and burned by Hamas. The images were shown to Secretary of State Antony Blinken by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government during his visit to Israel.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry told ABC News the photos were taken by ZAKA, the organization that removed the bodies, in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz near the Gaza border where Israeli military officials said more than 100 people were killed by Hamas fighters.

Two Hamas officials, who did not provide their names, claimed in a video statement released Thursday that fighters were instructed to not target civilians and had tried to avoid harming them.

“Sadly the Hamas PR machine is now trying to claim that they did not target children and women specifically and that it was not their intention which is a blatant lie and a fake campaign to try and distance themselves from the massacre they carried out," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said. "That is why sadly we have to tweet pictures of babies they killed."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that the U.S. is exploring all options in getting the American citizens who were taken by Hamas forces back safely during an interview Thursday with "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir.

He would not say if those plans included using U.S. Special Forces.

"I'm not going to get into the specifics of what we're looking at considering, unfortunately, [that] we have a lot of experience with this over the years," Blinken told Muir. "President Biden has always been determined in these situations to explore every possible option. That's what we’re doing."

Blinken added that the U.S. is working with other countries "who may have leverage with Hamas to use that leverage in favor of getting the hostages home."

-ABC News' Ivan Pereira

In an interview Thursday with "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir, Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his disgust and anger with Hamas after he saw the gruesome details from last weekend's attack.

During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in Israel, Blinken said he was shown images and videos of the victims who were killed and wounded during last weekend's attack.

Blinken said that the images, many of which were not seen before, were "genuinely overwhelming."

"A young infant riddled with bullets, a family hugging each other, in a death embrace, having been burned to death, beheaded soldiers," Blinken said, describing what he saw. "It almost defies human comprehension precisely because it's not human."

-ABC News' Ivan Pereira

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said there are "no credible or specific threats" against the city ahead of Friday, when Hamas is calling on their supporters to hold worldwide "Day of Rage" protests that could turn violent.

"We are deeply disturbed by the message of hate. It is not acceptable," Adams said during a briefing.

The mayor said he has directed the NYPD to surge additional resources to schools and houses of worship "to ensure that they are safe." Police are also stepping up patrols in certain neighborhoods, he said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also said at the briefing there is no intelligence "showing any active threats" in the state but "we will continue to exercise elevated vigilance."

She said state police have been "fully activated" and the National Guard has been directed to patrol key transportation hubs.

"There's no reason to feel afraid," Hochul said.

While on a bipartisan congressional delegation trip to Israel, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other members of the delegation were rushed into a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv to wait out a rocket attack, according to a social media post from Schumer.

"It shows you what Israelis have to go through," Schumer said in his post on X, which included a photo showing him and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, a Romney staff and several others huddled in the small bomb shelter.