Israel schools ask parents to uninstall apps as kids may see hostage clips

As the Israel-Palestine conflict continues, schools in Israel have warned parents to uninstall social media apps such as Instagram, TikTok, and others from their children's mobile phones in anticipation of militant group Hamas posting videos of Israeli hostages being killed.

Since the start of the Hamas attacks on Israel during the weekend, violent videos have been circulating on social media.

Users on X are sharing messages from Jewish schools urging parents to restrict social media use owing to the spread of disturbing content and potential distress.

"Messages from the Jewish high school I attended and our local Jewish Community Center suggesting parents delete X, Instagram and TikTok because of the “graphic and misleading information” on these platforms," a user wrote.

Similar warnings are now circulating worldwide, including in the US and UK, after The Frisch School in Paramus, New Jersey, also issued one, reports Cybernews.

“Local psychologists have reached out to us and informed us that the Israeli government is urging parents to tell their children to delete Instagram and TikTok immediately,” read an email sent to the school.

According to some users, the advice to delete social media apps from kids' phones was good, regardless of the situation.

"Just saw an email from a noted Jewish high school telling parents to have their kids delete TikTok and Instagram, in anticipation of Hamas posting videos of Israeli hostages begging for their lives or worse. (Some videos of taunting of hostage kids are already circulating)," a user said.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip has increased to more than 2,500, with more fatalities expected as the violence continues for the sixth day.

In a report, Israel's state-owned Kan TV news said at least 1,300 Israelis have died since Hamas launched its assault on 7 October.

The country's health ministry said 3,268 people were injured, of whom 443 were still in hospitals, reports Xinhua news agency.