India has blocked the X account of a Middle East Eye journalist who has been reporting on India-Israel ties.

Azad Essa, a US-based, South African journalist and senior reporter with MEE, was informed on 20 February by email that the Indian government has moved to ban his account in the country.

"In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a blocking order from the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting citing Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, regarding your X account: @azadessa," the letter said.

"Indian law obligates X to withhold access to this content in India; however, the content remains available elsewhere." The email, which had no name attached and came from "X Support", said Essa should contest the ban via court relief in India.