(Photo : Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images) A portrait of Hassan Nasrallah is held up at a Pro-Palestine rally on October 10, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza by land, sea, and air, over the weekend, killing over 600 people and wounding more than 2000, agency reports said. Reports also said Israeli soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped by Hamas and taken into Gaza. The attack prompted a declaration of war by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and ongoing retaliatory strikes by Israel on Gaza killing hundreds in the aftermath.

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) Chicago chapter is under fire for tweeting an image of a person with a parachute with a Palestinian flag and the caption "I Stand with Palestine," which was a presumed reference to the deadly first strike at a music festival near Kibbutz Re'im in Israel.

An estimated 260 partygoers were killed in that incident on October 7.

Backlash Galore

The reaction to the graphic was swift and relentless, the Washington Times reported.

Several conservative individuals and other persons or groups have criticized the group for allegedly supporting the massacre of civilians at the music festival.

"Black Lives Matter Defends Hamas, Salutes Killer Paragliders, "conservative podcast host Todd Starnes said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

"The guy with the parachute raped, tortured, kidnapped and murdered people... including 40 babies," posted Chicago talk-radio station AM 560 The Answer. "That's who BLM Chicago is standing with."

"BLM Chicago, like many leftists, comes out in support of slaughtering innocent people they don't like," conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck added. "Now ask yourself this: Do they like you? Unless you're an extremist, they probably don't. Consider the future ramifications of that for your family."

Elon Musk, who owns X, made a one-word reply to Starbuck: "Exactly."

Read Also: Israel Conflict Puts US College Administrators at Odds Over Pro-Palestinian Student Groups

BLM Chicago's Non-Apology

After the reaction, BLM Chicago responded to the criticism by removing the tweet and instead issued a statement on Wednesday (October 11).

"Yesterday we sent out [messages] that we aren't proud of," the chapter said. "We stand with Palestine & the people who will do what they must to live free. Our hearts are with the grieving mothers, those rescuing babies from the rubble, who are in danger of being wiped out completely."

In response, conservatives retorted in what seemed to be BLM Chicago's apparent doubling down.

"[The image] represents the Hamas terrorists who paraglided into the music festival and shot 260 people and took hostages," said Puck News founder Julia Ioffe.

"Honest question: Does [BLM Chicago] advocate for the kind of methods we saw from Hamas on Saturday - like paragliding into a music festival and shooting 260 people, then taking hostages & raping them - for American cops or even white Americans? Or is that reserved just for the Jews?"

Conservative radio host Erick Erickson also wrote in his daily email about the post.

"Look at the progressives right now, please," he wrote. "BLM is sending out graphics of Hamas paratroopers with Palestinian flags claiming to support them. Hamas parachuted into a music festival in Israel and killed over 200."

Related Article: Blinken Leaves for Israel, Jordan on 2-Day Solidarity Trip