The Israeli government shared and then deleted a social media post offering condolences over the death of Pope Francis, without saying why, though an Israeli newspaper linked the decision to the late pontiff’s criticism of the conflict in Gaza.

The verified @Israel account had posted on Monday a message on social media platform X that read: “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing,” alongside an image of the pope visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Post quoted officials at the foreign ministry as saying that the pope had made “statements against Israel” and that the social media post had been published in “error”.

The foreign ministry, which social media platform X states on its website is linked to the verified @Israel account, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.