Elon Musk in Israel: Meets with Netanyahu, visits communities attacked on Oct. 7, watches Hamas atrocities footage

Famous entrepreneur and successful business owner Elon Musk arrived in Israel on Monday morning, a visit some believe is intended to improve his image, especially regarding antisemitic content on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which he acquired last year. 

Upon his arrival, Musk visited with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took him on a tour of Kibbutz Kfar Aza 

Netanyahu showed him the remains of the horrific invasion and massacre of southern Israeli Gaza border communities by the Hamas terror organization on Saturday, Oct. 7.. 

Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council Acting Chairman Yossi Keren and IDF Spokesperson representative Liad Diamond briefed Musk on the massacre at the kibbutz. 

Netanyahu and Musk went to the home of the Libstein family, where they heard about the heroism of the late Ofir Libstein, the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council chairman who was killed on the morning of Oct. 7 while defending the kibbutz from Hamas terrorists.

They visited the Itamari family residence, where Musk heard about Avigail Idan (4), whose parents were murdered after which, she was abducted to Gaza and held hostage for 50 days, along with at least 240 others. Avigail was released on Sunday night from Hamas captivity.

Musk also viewed photographs that were taken a few days after the massacre. 

Later in the day, Netanyahu and Musk watched video footage of the Hamas attacks, which was previously shown to the Israeli Knesset, as well as to member of the U.S. Congress and the United Nations.

During his visit to Israel, Musk held a 20-minute live discussion with Netanyahu on X, where they discussed the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after the war. 

When Musk expressed a desire to help rebuild Gaza, Netanyahu responded that it would be necessary to “de-radicalize” the Palestinian Territories, in a way similar to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 

Musk told Netanyahu that it was “especially disturbing to see the joy of the people who killed innocent people, including children, babies and helpless people. It is one thing if civilians are killed accidentally, but it is another to enjoy the murder of civilians. It's evil.” 

Later on Monday evening, Musk is scheduled to meet with National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz, who is a member of the war cabinet, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. 

In the evening, Musk is also expected to receive a security briefing about the war before he returns to the United States. 

Musk has been accused of ignoring the increasing amount of antisemitic content on X.

He recently responded to a tweet about Jewish communities promoting hatred against white people with the comment: “You have said the actual truth.” 

The social media platform X suffered a drop in revenue after that incident, as several major brands, including Apple and Disney stopped advertising on the platform. 

Michael Freund, who submitted a successful request to X to suspend the official Hezbollah account, said Musk needs to remove the personal account of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as well. 

“He must understand that taking Hassan Nasrallah's account offline is essential. His presence on the platform is not only an attack on the network itself – it also harms Jews, Israel and the Western world. Nasrallah has not only Jewish blood on his hands, but also American blood,” Freund said, adding that Musk should take antisemitic content on X more seriously.