Meta Restores Photo of Hamas Hostages After Initially Removing It as ‘Dangerous’ Content
An undated picture of (from left) Liri Albag, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Karina Ariev held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, that was made public by their families on July 16, 2024. Photo: Hostages and Missing Families Forum
Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta on Tuesday removed an Instagram post by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum that featured a newly released picture of female soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who were kidnapped as hostages by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.
The undated image, published for the first time on Tuesday with permission from the families of the hostages, shows Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, and Daniella Gilboa sitting on mattresses on the floor of a room. The women appear injured and bruised, and Ariev and Gilboa both appear to have bandages on their heads. A picture of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is framed behind them.
Another photo released on Tuesday features fellow hostage and IDF soldier Naama Levy with a swollen eye and cuts on her face. The photos were taken during the first few days of their captivity, and the five women are among the approximately 120 hostages still held in Hamas captivity since Oct. 7.
Hamas kidnapped the five women from the Nahal Oz military base during the terrorist organization’s deadly rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7, during which they killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 others. Hamas killed 52 soldiers at the Nahal Oz base, including 15 female surveillance officers, and kidnapped 10 soldiers in total.
Meta removed the photo of four of the hostages from the Instagram page of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and cited “dangerous individuals and organizations” as the reason for the removal. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum shared a screenshot of Meta’s message on its Instagram Story and wrote in response, “Really?”
Photo: Screenshot
Meta’s policy on “dangerous organizations or individuals” states: “In an effort to prevent and disrupt real-world harm, we do not allow organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence to have a presence on our platforms.”
However, the photo of the hostages was soon restored to Instagram, and Meta’s Vice President of Communications Maayan Sarig explained the mixup.
“This case differs from our policy on removing hostage content produced by Hamas,” Sarig said in a statement cited by Israel Hayom. “The image of the captive female field observer soldiers doesn’t violate our policy because it wasn’t produced or published by Hamas. The IDF found it, and the hostages’ families distributed it as proof of life and to raise awareness. We will restore the image to accounts where it was removed.”
The photos of the hostages publicized on Tuesday were taken from a Hamas video obtained by the IDF during its military operations in the Gaza Strip. The images were first shown to the families of the hostages by the IDF a few months prior.
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