BOSTON — A display of posters with the faces of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas terrorists has been vandalized outside a Newton home, as police investigate the “hate crime” and ask neighbors for surveillance footage.

The lawn signs with the names and faces of those held hostage for more than five months were defaced with black spray paint outside the home of Jeff and Miriam Kosowsky over the weekend.

“And it wasn’t a random spraying of the paint,” Miriam told the Herald on Monday. “Whoever did this went up to each person, looked them in the eye, and spray painted their face and name.

“They looked at a 9-month-old baby and said, ‘OK, this child should be erased,’ ” she added. “It’s a level of hatred that is quite scary… It’s not healthy for them to feel so much hate. It’s a deep-seated and a very dangerous hate.”

The vandal(s) also wrote “Fre(e) Gaza.”

After the vandalism on Sunday morning, police launched a “hate crime” investigation for the incident along Homer Street in Newton Centre.

“We denounce such behavior, and our community has no tolerance for such bias and hateful acts,” Newton Police Chief John Carmichael said in a statement. “We will investigate the matter fully and seek to prosecute anyone involved.”

Detectives were canvassing the neighborhood, and police were asking neighbors in the Homer Street area to review any surveillance camera footage from Saturday to the early morning hours of Sunday.

Police were able to narrow the timeline down to between 7:45 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, Miriam said.

“So this was done in broad daylight,” she added.

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