The Babylon Bee drew criticism after posting, then deleting, a satirical headline about Megyn Kelly that referenced a deadly 2024 Israeli pager operation targeting Hezbollah operatives.

The Bee’s headline read, “Megyn Kelly Gets Rid Of Old Pager Just To Be Safe.”

The reference pointed to an actual Israeli intelligence operation on September 17, 2024, in which thousands of pagers distributed to Hezbollah operatives detonated in homes, offices, and shops across Lebanon, according to PBS News. The blasts wounded more than 3,000 people and killed 12, PBS reported.

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Kelly responded to the Bee’s post with a brief “WTF.” Critics online accused the Bee of implying violence toward Kelly, who has recently taken a more critical tone toward the Israeli government, according to online commentary.

The Bee later deleted the post.

The Babylon Bee is a satirical publication known for pushing the boundaries of political humor. The outlet removed the post within hours but did not provide a public explanation for the decision. Supporters of the Bee argued the headline was clearly satire, while critics said the joke referenced a real attack that killed civilians and went too far.

Some online commentators sharply criticized the Bee.

“For the record, here is the original tweet. Seth Dillon and Joel Berry just jokingly threatened to sub out an Israeli style pager hit on Megyn Kelly. Undoubtedly because she made Ben Shapiro look foolish,” National File claimed in a post on X.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald also criticized the post. “Last night @TheBabylonBee — which should just re-name itself The Tel Aviv Bee — threatened Megyn Kelly that she’d be murdered by Israel for refusing to de-platform all Israel critics. As Israel loyalists often do, they used the pager image to pretend it was all just a joke,” Greenwald wrote on X.

Others defended the Bee and argued the post was satire consistent with its style.

“It was a joke. You might have not liked it, but calling it a threat is a wild leap. They even called in the maid to clean up and deleted it,” TheQuartering posted.

“This is definitely a joke but also meant to send a message,” Alex Stein wrote.

The Dallas Express reached out to The Babylon Bee for comment but did not receive a response.