Israel’s Communications Minister, Shlomo Karhi, has reversed decision to shut down the Associated Press live feed and the agency’s seized broadcast equipment were returned hours after, the BBC reports.

Mr Karhi said the equipment were seized because the U.S. news agency violated a new media law by broadcasting images of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network which it had banned.

The minister’s on his X handle said, “Since the ministry of defence wishes to examine the matter of the broadcasts from these locations in Sderot regarding the risk to our forces, I have now ordered to cancel the operation and return the equipment to the AP agency, until a different decision is made by the ministry of defence.”

But reacting to the development, AP Vice-President, Lauren Easton, said the news outlet, “decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government.”

The AP reported that the officials, “handed the AP a piece of paper, signed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, alleging it was violating the country’s foreign broadcaster law,” and rejected a verbal order to cease the live transmission last Thursday.

The agency insisted that it complied with the country’s military censorship rules prohibiting broadcasts of details such as troop movements that could endanger soldiers.

The communications ministry in a statement however accused the AP of broadcasting footage of Gaza from the balcony of a house in Sderot that included “the activity of Israel defence forces combat soldiers and their location.

“Even though communications ministry inspectors warned them that they were breaking the law and that they should remove Al Jazeera as a recipient of their content and not transfer their broadcast to Al Jazeera, they continued to do so. The law and directives do not distinguish between Al Jazeera itself and the suppliers who transfer materials to the (news agency) from Israel.’’

But the AP quoted its VP as saying that “the shutdown was not based on the content of the feed but rather an abusive use by the Israeli government of the country’s new foreign broadcaster law. We urge the Israeli authorities to return our equipment and enable us to reinstate our live feed immediately so we can continue to provide this important visual journalism to thousands of media outlets around the world.’’

The White House, Foreign Press Association, and the United Nations, have condemned the actions of the Israeli government.