Meta shuts down Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif’s Instagram account

• The account contained Al-Sharif’s archive documenting the war on Gaza.
• A statement appealed for help restoring the account and urged anyone with contacts at Meta or Instagram to get in touch.
• The circumstances behind the shutdown remain unclear.

Meta has shut down Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif’s Instagram account, which contained an extensive archive documenting Israel’s war on Gaza, according to a statement posted on Friday appealing for help restoring the page.

“We were deeply saddened to discover that journalist Anas Al-Sharif’s Instagram account has been shut down,” the statement said.

It described the account as containing Al-Sharif’s complete archive and extensive documentation of the war on Gaza.

The statement called on anyone who could help recover the account, or who had direct contacts at Meta or Instagram’s management, to reach out through private messages.

The reason for the account’s shutdown was not immediately clear. It was also unclear whether Meta had provided an explanation for the action.

Al-Sharif was a Palestinian journalist from northern Gaza who reported amid the ‘Israeli’ assault on the enclave, and was assassinated by ‘Israeli’ forces in August 2025.

تفاجأنا، بكل أسف، بإغلاق صفحة الصحفي أنس الشريف، التي تضم أرشيفه الكامل وتوثيقه للحرب على غزة. ونرجو من كل من يستطيع المساعدة في استعادة الحساب أو لديه وسيلة للتواصل مع شركة ميتا أو إدارة إنستغرام، أن يتواصل معنا عبر الرسائل الخاصة. We were deeply saddened to discover that journalist Anas Al-Sharif’s Instagram account has been shut down. The Account contains his complete archive and extensive documentation of the war in Gaza. We kindly ask anyone who may be able to help restore the account, or who has a direct way to contact Meta or Instagram’s management, to reach out to us via private message. نرجو متابعة الحساب الاحتياطي 👇 https://t.co/VGW5F4z3Vy صوت غزة للعالم أنس الشريف

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) October 9, 2026