Elon Musk, who's been under fire for his own comments, as well as other peoples' posts, on his social media platform X, visited Israel, where he toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas terrorists and held talks with top leaders.
The billionaire met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who scolded him over content on the platform previously known as Twitter, and joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a tour of the Kfar Azza kibbutz, a rural village that Hamas militants stormed on Oct. 7 in a deadly assault that launched the current war.
Wearing a protective vest and escorted by a phalanx of security personnel as rain fell, Musk used his phone to take photos or videos of the devastation, according to video released by Netanyahu’s office. Musk’s visit came as Israel and Hamas reached a deal to extend a cease-fire for two more days.
The Tesla CEO and prime minister visited the damaged homes of victims, including the family of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl with dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship who was held hostage by Hamas after her parents were killed. She was released Sunday in the latest round of exchanges during a cease-fire in Gaza set to expire after Monday.
“It was jarring to see the scene of the massacre,” Musk said in a conversation with Netanyahu streamed on X. He said he was troubled by video and photos that the prime minister showed him of the loss of civilians, including children.
They spoke broadly about the conflict, the protests it has generated, the Middle East and more but did not touch on antisemitism online. Netanyahu, who urged a rollback of such hatred in a September meeting with Musk, said he hoped the billionaire would be involved in building a better future. Musk replied, “I’d love to help.”
Herzog did confront Musk, saying that “the platforms you lead, unfortunately, have a huge reservoir of hatred, hatred of Jews and antisemitism.”
The Israeli president was joined in the meeting by some of the families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, according to a statement from Herzog’s office.
“Hatred of the Jews affects the behavior of people in many places around the world, and you have a huge role to play in this,” Herzog told Musk.
The X owner responded that it had been a “difficult day emotionally” following the tour and that “we have to do whatever is necessary to stop the hate,” according to Herzog's office.
The billionaire, who has described himself as a free-speech absolutist, tweeted during his Israel visit that “actions speak louder than words.”
Israel also settled a spat with Musk over his Starlink satellite internet company, with Starlink agreeing to operate in Gaza only with government approval.
“As a result of this significant agreement, Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip,” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi tweeted.
The two had tangled online previously after Musk promised that Starlink would support connectivity to internationally recognized aid groups in Gaza, drawing a rebuke from Karhi, who said Israeli would fight it because Hamas would use the service for violent activities.