Pizza Shop Using 'Hostage Grandma' Ad... Israel Bulldozed It Down

Store Side "Seems Like Someone Secretly Posted an Advertisement" Rebuttal

The Israeli military bulldozed a Palestinian pizza shop in the middle of the night. This was because the shop used a photo of a grandmother held hostage by the Palestinian armed group Hamas in its advertisement.

According to Business Insider and others on the 16th (local time), the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) demolished a pizza shop in the village of Huwwara near the West Bank on the 12th.

Advertisement posted on the SNS account of a pizza shop in Palestine. [Image source=Facebook]

The shop became controversial for using a Hamas hostage photo in its advertisement. In the advertisement photo posted by the shop, a white-haired grandmother is making a 'V' sign next to a pizza.

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary advertisement, but the grandmother was revealed to be a hostage kidnapped by Hamas during Israel's surprise attack. In particular, the original photo of the grandmother comes from a video filmed by Hamas, which shows the grandmother holding a gun in one hand and making a V sign with the other, under the coercion of a masked Hamas militant.

The demolished problematic pizza shop. [Image source = Social Networking Service 'X']

When controversy arose, the pizza shop denied creating the problematic advertisement through social media. The shop stated on Facebook, "Someone secretly posted the advertisement to harm the shop," and "We want everyone to live with dignity and peace."

However, Israeli authorities judged that the shop was inciting and supporting terrorist activities and proceeded with forced demolition. Videos of the incident show the IDF bulldozing the shop, which was destroyed beyond recognition.

Meanwhile, Hamas stated that there are currently between 200 and 250 hostages in the Gaza Strip, controlled in several locations. They also claimed that 22 hostages have died due to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.