Posters of kidnapped Israeli children have been defaced in north London, with police treating the incident as a hate crime.

Images appealing for the return of two three-year-olds, Emma and Yuli Cunio, were vandalised with Hitler-like moustaches drawn on the children’s faces.

The posters were put up as part of efforts to raise awareness of the plight of over 200 people currently being kept hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

One of the posters in South Hampstead features the smiling twin girls, who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct 7. Moustaches reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s were drawn over the faces of Emma and Yuli on a poster that was placed at a Finchley Road bus stop.