A social media post from Iran’s supreme leader, Sayyid Ali Khamenei, was labeled by the platform formerly known as Twitter as a violation of the platform’s rules, although it was allowed to remain because it might be in the “public’s interest” since it also drew a direct response from platform owner Elon Musk.
On Oct. 8, the Iranian leader responded to the Hamas attacks on Israel over the past weekend on the platform, now called X, by saying that “the cancer of the usurper Zionist regime will be eradicated at the hands of the Palestinian people and the Resistance forces throughout the region.”
Soon after, Mr. Khamenei’s post was labeled that it violated “the X Rules,” but it was “determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Post to remain accessible.”
Mr. Musk, who purchased the social media platform last year, said that Mr. Khamenei’s prediction likely won’t come to fruition.
“Stoking the fires of hatred isn’t working. Perhaps it is time to consider something else.”
Mr. Khamenei’s post appeared to praise the killing of concertgoers in Israel and included a video of them running while gunshots were heard in the background.
Since taking over Twitter, Mr. Musk has rescinded several rules on his platform regarding speech. Some conservatives have argued that the former rules were being used to unfairly punish people with viewpoints that go contrary to the mainstream.
Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister on Oct. 9 ordered a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip following the unprecedented incursion into Israel that began on Oct. 7. Israel formally declared war the next day and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against after the surprise attack. More than 1,100 people have been killed and thousands wounded on both sides.
The defense minister’s announcement came as Israel’s military scoured the country’s south for Hamas fighters and guarded breaches in its border fence with tanks while pounding Gaza from the air.
A spokesperson told The Associated Press that the Israeli military regained control of border communities that had been taken by Hamas fighters during the attack. Palestinian militants continued to fire barrages of rockets, setting off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
A spokesperson for Hamas said that the Islamic terrorist group wants to “liberate all Palestinian prisoners” from Israel and end what he described as provocations in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, particularly at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told The Associated Press over the phone that Hamas militants were still fighting Israeli forces and had captured more Israelis on the morning of Oct. 9.
“We are in an open battle to defend our people and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he told the outlet. “This battle is linked to the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners and the cessation of this fascist government’s activities in Jerusalem.”
He said the group has captured “a large number of Israelis” in Gaza, without giving a specific figure. He said Hamas’s military wing, al-Qassam, would announce the figures later.
On Oct. 8, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group to move to the Eastern Mediterranean, closer to the Israeli coast. The White House said in a separate statement that military aid would be provided to the Israel Defense Forces in coming days.
