A hijab-wearing model from Leicester has pulled out of an advertising campaign for L’Oreal Paris after hostile reaction to anti-Israel tweets she posted four years ago.

Last week Amena Khan made news as the first model wearing a hijab to feature in a campaign for a major brand.

But this week the cosmetics company backed her decision to step aside over comments she made on social media during the Gaza War of summer 2014.

In a statement on Instagram, she said she deeply regretted the content of the tweets “and sincerely apologise for the upset they have caused”.

She deleted the remarks “as they do not represent the message of harmony that I stand for”.

According to the website of the Daily Caller, she had posted oin Twitter in 2014  that “the brutal murder of Palestinians had been occurring MANY years before the formation of Hamas. Israel’s excuses are blatant lies.”

Under international law, Israel was an “illegal state”, she was also reported to have written.

Ms Khan said she had chosen to stand down from the campaign because the reaction to the tweets detracted “from the positive and inclusive sentiment that it set out to deliver”.

L’Oreal said it appreciated her apology “for the content of these tweets and the offence they have caused”.

The company was  “committed to tolerance and respect towards all people. We agree with her decision to step down from the campaign”.