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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.
The post Meta Restores Photo of Hamas Hostages After Initially Removing It as ‘Dangerous’ Content first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.