Israel flattened a West Bank pizzeria with a bulldozer after it used a picture of an elderly hostage in an advert, reports say

• Israel wiped out a pizza place in the West Bank town of Huwara, The Telegraph reported.
• The pizzeria used a picture of an Israeli woman who was taken hostage by Hamas as part of an ad.
• The company posted an apology on Facebook, but its owner has been detained.

Israel destroyed a pizzeria in the West Bank town of Huwara after it used an image of an elderly woman who was held captive by Hamas in an advert, The Telegraph reported.

The advert seemed to mock the woman, who appears next to an image of a pizza with accompanying text detailing an offer for a family-sized pizza, The Messenger reported.

The woman, an elderly Holocaust survivor, was one of up to 150 hostages taken by Hamas following its surprise wave of attacks on October 7.

In a video following her capture, the woman can be seen with a machine gun in her lap, while sitting next to what seems to be a masked fighter.

A later video shows an Israeli bulldozer destroying the storefront of the pizzeria, which is called the Eiffel Bakery and Supermarket.

IDF commander Yehuda Fox also ordered that the restaurant be closed for five months for inciting and supporting terror activities, The Times of Israel reported.

The Eiffel Bakery and Supermarket posted an apology on Facebook, per The Telegraph. Insider has not been able to retrieve the original post.

"We are very sorry for the picture that was uploaded. Of course, the image did not occur to us," the post said, per the report.

"Someone tried to hurt us. We are against harming people and women and just want to make a living with dignity and live in peace with everyone. We are very sorry to the members of the affected family and the other people who were affected."

The owner of the establishment was detained, the Times of Israel reported, citing Hebrew media reports.

Since Hamas launched its attacks on October 7, more than 1,300 people have been killed in Israel. Israel has since bombarded Gaza with airstrikes and killed nearly 2,000 people in the Palestinian territories.

Around one million people living in Gaza were also told to evacuate ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive.