Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of Hamas' Political Bureau since 2017 and the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority at one point, was assassinated in an Israeli raid on his residence in Tehran early Wednesday.

Users have expressed dismay over Facebook's deletion of their posts grieving Haniyeh's death.

"The Facebook administration has removed several of my posts mourning Haniyeh," stated Facebook user Ahmed Ayman. "It also has restricted my account, prohibiting me from posting or commenting in the groups I am a member in."

Facebook's prompt removal of content, accompanied by messages like "We removed your post," has angered many users, with some accounts even facing temporary restrictions due to such content.

Facebook's rationale for these actions cites concerns over sharing symbols, praise, or support for individuals or organizations deemed "dangerous" by the platform.

In a notable incident, the office of the Malaysian prime minister reported that Meta had removed an Instagram post by Anwar Ibrahim that dates back to May regarding his meeting with a Hamas delegation led by Haniyeh in Doha.

The PM's office has demanded an explanation from Meta and called for an apology in response to the action.

"We condemn the actions of the Instagram platform provider, Meta," the office stated.

"This action demonstrates discrimination against the situation in Palestine and its leaders," it added.

Censoring  pro-Palestinian content
 

Since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza in 2023, many individuals have reported to Human Rights Watch (HRW) that Meta has restricted their accounts, for the first time since joining the platform, for advocating Palestinian rights.

"In every instance, the censorship was directly linked to pro-Palestinian content since October 7," a New York City-based NGO report stated on December 2023.

Meanwhile, HRW highlighted that some users provided examples of Meta failing to remove abusive content inciting violence or constituting hate speech against Palestinians.

However, they mentioned incidents where peaceful content advocating the human rights of Palestinians was removed, sometimes from the same post.

"Facebook deleted a post I shared moments ago since it includes a picture of martyr Ismail Haniyeh, and it erased a comment on the post containing images of Haniyeh's children, grandchildren, and wife who preceded him in martyrdom by a Zionist airstrike," Samir El-Naggar, a Facebook user, said. 

El-Naggar wrote the post by separating the letters of the words "Ismail" and "Zionist" to avoid being recognized by Facebook algorithms.

Meta's handling of Israeli-Palestinian content in recent months has been viewed by many users and rights groups as an effort to stifle voices advocating for Palestine and Palestinian human rights.

In a report released in March, the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), an international network of civil society organizations established in 1990, pointed out that prominent accounts were being taken down solely for sharing information about the dire situation in Gaza.

"Meta is complicit in the oppression, and now plausible genocide, of the Palestinian people," stated the APC. "Since the commencement of the latest war on Gaza, Meta has actively silenced and censored Palestinian voices and narratives."

TWEET
 

Despite denying allegations of deliberately stifling voices, Meta acknowledged that errors could occur and introduced an appeals process for affected individuals.

The company stated that it designates Hamas as a "dangerous organization."

"Hamas is prohibited on our platforms, and we remove expressions of support or praise for them when identified, while still permitting social and political discourse—such as news reporting, discussions on human rights issues, or academic and neutral debates," Meta clarified in 2023.

ME war?
 

Ismail Haniyeh, 62, was assassinated shortly after attending the inauguration of Iranian president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

The Palestinian leader had recently lost several children and grandchildren in Gaza in what many believed were targeted attacks by the Israeli army against members of his immediate family.

Hamas and Iran have vowed they would avenge his murder as Israel escalates its attacks in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, sparking concerns of an all-out war in the region.

Hamas' military wing declared in a statement that Haniyeh's assassination "escalates the conflict to new levels and will have significant repercussions across the region," the Associated Press reported.

They asserted that Israel had "miscalculated by broadening the scope of aggression."

Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged "revenge" and "harsh punishment" for Israel, saying it is "our duty." Pezeshkian, in turn, promised that the assailants would "regret their cowardly action."

Following Haniyeh's assassination, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin affirmed that Washington would assist in safeguarding Israel in the event of an attack, while also striving to ease subsequent tensions in the region.

Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, China, Russia, and Turkey have all denounced Haniyeh's assassination.

Assassinations record
 

In recent months, Israel intensified its decades old targeted assassinations of Lebanese and Palestinian resistance leaders.

Haniyeh's assassination occurred shortly after Israel claimed to have "eliminated" top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on Beirut on Tuesday. 

Hezbollah has not confirmed Shukr's death.

The Israeli genocidal war on the Palestinians has killed more than 39,000 and wounded more than 90,000, most of them women and children, since 7 October.

The Israeli war has ravaged the territory's infrastructure and left two million people on the verge of starvation as Tel Aviv continued to block most humanitarian aid to the strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the assault was aimed at targeting senior Hamas leader Mohammed Deif. However, Hamas refuted these claims, insisting that Deif is alive and in good health.

Up to his assasination, Haniyeh had been leading indirect negotiations with Israel in an attempt to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.

His murder casts a dark shadow over the ongoing talks facilitated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to swap prisoners and end the war.