Computer game that recreates Hamas attack on October 7 after police complaint | Entertainment

A computer game that allows users to recreate elements of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel has been removed from the popular gaming site Steam in the United Kingdom at the request of counter-terrorism police, according to emails with the game’s creator.

Fursan al-Aqsa: Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, released in 2022, allows players to play as the fictional character “Ahmad al-Falastini,” a young Palestinian student, as he takes revenge on the Israeli soldiers who tortured him and killed his child. the family.

An updated version of the game called Operation al-Aqsa Flood, the name Hamas used for its attack on October 7, 2023, was released on Steam earlier this month.

The game’s cut scene shows the main character entering the Israeli military base Re’im using a motorized hang glider, similar to the attack carried out by Hamas fighters on October 7, while wearing a green scarf on his forehead. Green is the color of the Hamas flag.

The soldiers then attacked Israeli soldiers and vehicles and killed a number of unarmed soldiers with headshots.

The game’s distributor told developer Nidal Nijm that it had removed the game at the request of UK police, according to emails seen by Al Jazeera.

In an email dated October 24, Valve Corporation told Nijm that it had been contacted by the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit, but did not share further details.

“Like any regional authority that governs and controls what content can be accessed, we must comply with their requests. Unfortunately I don’t have anyone to refer you to,” the email said.

Neither Valve Corporation, Steam, nor the UK Metropolitan Police, which oversees the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit, immediately responded to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment.

Operation al-Aqsa Flood continues to be available on Steam in other countries, except for Germany and Australia, where the game is restricted due to age restrictions.

Nijm, a self-proclaimed Muslim Brazilian, said his play was intended as a political protest and had nothing to do with any particular Palestinian group.

He said his father was a member of Fatah and fought in the Lebanese Civil War before moving to Brazil.

“I tried to show that we, the Palestinian people, have the right to resist the Israeli attacks and the killing of people that we see clearly. [on] every day in the news. But I also like to always stay ‘under the thin red line’ between freedom of speech and ‘terrorist propaganda,’” Nijm told Al Jazeera.

The cut scene of Operation al-Aqsa Flood was meant to arouse passion and “trap” the Zionists, Nim said, but the game itself was greatly reduced, with players quickly failing when shooting at unarmed people.

Nijm said that if his game is banned in the UK, the authorities should also ban Call of Duty Black Ops 6, a first-person shooter set during the Gulf War that allows people to play as US soldiers and kill Iraqi soldiers.

“I don’t blame Valve or Steam; the blame lies with the UK government and the authorities who are offended by the video game. With their flawed thinking, the latest Call of Duty Black Ops 6 should be banned, too,” he said.

“As you play as an American soldier and go to Iraq to kill Iraqis. What I can say is that we clearly see the double standard.”

Nijm said the game has been downloaded by about 50,000 users.

Reviews on Steam have been mixed, with some users expressing praise for its political message and others criticizing the quality of the graphics.

“[The game] it’s a lot of fun to play, if a little janky, and it’s a nice break from the constant US propaganda in the shooter genre,” wrote one Steam user.

Professional reviews have been very negative.

Emanuel Maiberg, a writer for 404 Media, who first reported the UK ban, said the game was “sucking” and in “bad taste,” although he acknowledged its similarities to the Call of Duty series.

Steam has come under fire on social media for Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other pro-Palestinian content before the UK ban or the release of the October 7 themed update.

Late last year, right-wing activist Chaya Raichik, who goes by the moniker Libs for TikTok, said that Nijm’s game allows players to play a “Hamas te*ro*ist killing Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem while shouting. ‘Allahu Akbar.’

“A lot of opinions support calling the Jews ig*noc*de. This is available for your children to play,” Raichik told X.

In April, some Steam users called for a boycott of the platform after it released the game Toofan AlAqsa, a first-person shooter that allows users to shoot Israeli soldiers.

“Because there is not enough violence directed at Jews around the world, @Steam thought it would be a good idea to put a game aimed at shooting Jews,” Stop Antisemitism, an American advocacy group, told X.

A Hamas attack on October 7 killed 1,139 people and injured more than 8,700, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza has killed at least 44,282 Palestinians and injured more than 104,000 others, according to Gaza authorities.