Twitter, Facebook shut Hizballah war media accounts after Israel threat

Facebook and Twitter have shut down accounts run by Lebanese militia Hizballah after an Israeli minister threatened to take legal action if the pages were not blocked.

Hizballah-affiliated news website al-Manar  reported on Saturday that the group's "War Media Centre" accounts on the two social media platforms were shut down "without prior warning".

"After the important role the War Media Centre has played on various fields, Facebook and Twitter administrators have blocked its pages without notice," the centre's account on Telegram said.

The statement added that the move was part of the social media platforms' "efforts against the media of the resistance".

The military media accounts carried regular updates on developments in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

The move came after Israel's public security minister sent a letter to Twitter last month warning it could face prosecution if it does not block accounts belonging to Hizballah and Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas.

Listed as a terror group by the United States, Iran-backed Hizballah is now fighting in Syria on behalf of the regime and in Iraq alongside paramilitary groups, and is accused of backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Israel fought a devastating war against Hizballah in Lebanon in 2006 that killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 120 Israelis, most of them soldiers.

Last month, Israel launched a large-scale attack on what it said were Iranian targets in Syria, raising fears of a major confrontation.

Israel has long called for Iranian-backed forces such as Hizballah to keep away from its border with Syria.