PARIS – A social media influencer was arrested in France on Thursday for making light of the reported killing of an Israel baby by Hamas attackers, prosecutors told AFP.
In a video, the woman – identified by media as Warda Anwar, a model – commented on a report by an Israeli first responder who said Hamas attackers had burned a baby alive in an oven during their assault on Oct 7.
The report has not been confirmed by Israeli authorities.
“I wonder whether they added salt and pepper first, did they add thyme?“ Anwar said in the video. “What was the side dish?“
Following strong reactions on social media to the video last week, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday he had filed a criminal complaint against Anwar.
Prosecutors said she was being investigated for “glorifying terrorism” and was taken into custody in Paris early on Thursday.
The Israeli embassy in France called Anwar’s remarks “disgusting”.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, the embassy said “the unspeakable remarks must not remain unpunished”, and called for her social media accounts to be blocked.
French media say her video was carried on Instagram, but her account was not available on Thursday. AFP
Embed Twitter
Tweet URL
Gaza activist on speaking tour in France detained, awaiting deportation
Macron says France will be 'ruthless' against antisemitism
Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
p.st_telegram_boilerplate:before {
display: inline-block;
content: ” “;
border-radius: 6px;
height: 6px;
width: 6px;
background-color: #12239a;
margin-left: 0px;
margin-right: 13px;
}
a.st_boilerplate {
font-family: “SelaneWebSTForty”, Georgia, “Times New Roman”, Times, serif;
}