Durov assessed the possibility of blocking the Hamas channel on Telegram

Telegram moderators can delete the channel of the Palestinian group Hamas, but this may worsen the situation with informing the population, believes founder of the platform Pavel Durov.

“This week, Hamas used Telegram to warn civilians in Ashkelon [город в Израиле] about the need to leave the area before missile attacks. Will closing their channel help save lives or put even more lives at risk,” Durov wondered in his channel.

It’s “always tempting” to act on emotional impulses, he said, but such complex situations require “careful consideration that also takes into account the differences between social platforms.”

“On Telegram, users receive only the content they specifically subscribed to. Thus, it is unlikely that Telegram channels can be used to significantly increase propaganda,” explains Durov.

The platform, he said, serves as a resource for journalists, researchers and fact-checkers. “Although it would be easy for us to destroy this source of information, this risks aggravating an already difficult situation,” concluded the founder of the messenger.

On October 7, Hamas began military operations against Israel. The militants attacked the army’s border units and entered Israeli populated areas, seizing military and civilian hostages. The Israel Defense Forces responded by launching Operation Iron Swords. Israel announced that the country had entered a state of war.

The total number of deaths, according to the latest data, is more than 3,000 people. In Israel, on October 11, it was reported that 1,300 were killed and about 3,300 were injured. The Palestinian Ministry of Health uses Telegram to post information about the dead – October 13 there reported about 1,850 people were killed and more than 7,000 were injured.