Meta has agreed to restore a post removed from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Instagram account featuring previously unseen images of five female hostages abducted from the Israel Defense Forces’ Nahal Oz base on Oct. 7.
Meta had removed the post, citing “dangerous individuals and organizations” as the reason.
The images, published for the first time on Tuesday, show the five hostages in the early days of their captivity. They appear injured and bruised, and are sitting on mattresses with a picture of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the background. The families authorized the release of these photos to raise awareness and create pressure for a hostage release deal.
In response to the removal, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum shared Meta’s notice with a single-word comment: “Really?”
Meta’s VP of Communications, Maayan Sarig, later clarified the situation: “This case differs from our policy on removing hostage content produced by Hamas. 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.”
Meta’s policy 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.”
As of noon on Thursday, the post had not been restored.
This is an edited version of an article originally published by Israel Hayom.
