Meta Platforms issued an apology on Tuesday for mistakenly removing posts from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s social media accounts that mourned the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The posts, which had been deleted from both Facebook and Instagram, were reinstated with a designation recognizing their newsworthiness.
This incident followed a request from Malaysia for an explanation after the content was removed. Meta’s spokesperson attributed the removal to an operational error.
This explanation was part of the discussions between Malaysian officials and Meta representatives. Anwar’s office criticized the removal as discriminatory and an unjust limitation on free speech.
The deleted posts included a video of Anwar expressing condolences to a Hamas official, and a note on Instagram mentioning their initial removal due to links with “dangerous individuals and organizations.”
Last week, Anwar accused the tech giant of “cowardice” for removing his posts.
Anwar, who met Haniyeh in Qatar in May, has defended Malaysia’s ties with Hamas.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani stated that “Haniyeh’s blood will not be shed in vain.”
Iranian state media quoted Kanaani as saying that Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran “will strengthen and deepen the close connection between Tehran, Palestine, and the resistance.”
He added that “the Palestinian resistance has every right to punish those responsible for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.”
Simultaneously, former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Rezaei was quoted by Iranian state media as saying, “Israel will pay a heavy price” for Haniyeh’s assassination.
