Telegram blocked Hamas channel for Android users

Telegram has blocked the official channel of the Palestinian organization Hamas for Android users, transmits TASS.

“Access to some of the channels you subscribe to may be restricted in your version of Telegram in accordance with Google Play rules,” said the message, which was received by all users of the latest version of the application for the Android system.

In addition, access to the channel of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was also limited. These channels are still available for iOS users.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov reportedthat messenger moderators have the ability to block channels, but this could lead to aggravation of the situation. “This week (October 9 to 15 – ed.) Hamas used Telegram to warn civilians in Ashkelon to leave the area before rocket attacks. Will closing their channel help save lives or will it put even more lives at risk?” Durov wrote. The platform, he said, serves as a resource for journalists, researchers and fact-checkers.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, when the Palestinian group Hamas began military operations against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded by launching Operation Iron Swords, striking hundreds of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government announced that the country had entered a state of war. As a result of the fighting, according to the latest data, about 6,500 people were killed, including 5,087 from the Gaza Strip.