Pop singer Dua Lipa has condemned the military operations in Gaza, describing them as “Israeli genocide” in an Instagram post to her 88 million followers.
Reposting a graphic from the group Artists4Ceasefire, along with the hashtag #AllEyesOnRafah that has trended in the days following Israel’s bombing of the Palestinian city, she wrote: “Burning children alive can never be justified. The whole world is mobilising to stop the Israeli genocide. Please show your solidarity with Gaza.”
Lipa has long been an advocate for Palestinian rights, but her comments are her most strident yet in opposing Israel over the conflict.
In December, she wrote: “With each passing day, my heart aches for the people of Israel and Palestine. Grief for the lives lost in the horrifying attacks in Israel. Grief as I witness the unprecedented suffering in Gaza, where 2.2m souls, half of them children, endure unimaginable hardships. For now, I desperately hope for a ceasefire in Gaza and urge governments to halt the unfolding crisis. Our hope lies in finding the empathy to recognise this dire humanitarian situation. Sending love to Palestinian and Jewish communities worldwide, who bear this burden more heavily than most.”
In January, speaking to Rolling Stone, she said: “I don’t condone what Hamas is doing … I feel so bad for every Israeli life lost and what happened on 7 October. At the moment, what we have to look at is how many lives have been lost in Gaza, and the innocent civilians, and the lives that are just being lost. There are just not enough world leaders that are taking a stand and speaking up about the humanitarian crisis that’s happening, the humanitarian ceasefire that has to happen.”
Prior to the 2023 escalation of the conflict, in 2020 she re-posted an Instagram post that criticised the IDF and called for Palestinian independence.
The following year Lipa was singled out along with models Gigi and Bella Hadid in an advert posted in the New York Times by the Jewish group The World Values Network, who described them as antisemitic and captioned a photo of them: “Hamas calls for a second Holocaust. Condemn them now.”
Lipa responded: “I utterly reject the false and appalling accusations. This is the price you pay for defending Palestinian human rights against an Israeli government whose actions both Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem accuse of persecution and discrimination. I take this stance because I believe that everyone – Jews, Muslims and Christians – have the right to live in peace as equal citizens of a state they choose.”
The singer, who is of Kosovan heritage, has also criticised UK politicians over their language around immigration. In 2023, in the wake of Suella Braverman describing “Albanian criminals” in a discussion of small boat crossings on the Channel, Lipa said: “When you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts. It’s shortsighted and small-minded, but it’s the way a lot of people think.”
Comments about the conflict in Israel and Palestine are relatively rare in the world of pop, though Stormzy is another major British star who has spoken out. In October, he wrote on Instagram: “Free Palestine. In the future, if there is ever a clear injustice in the world, no matter how big or small, 100 times out of 100 I will be on the side of the oppressed.” He also performed a benefit concert for Gaza and Sudan in New Jersey in January.
Paul Weller, who performed in front of a Palestinian flag on his recent tour, spoke out against Israel in the Observer last weekend, saying: “Am I against genocides and ethnic cleansing? Yes, I am, funnily enough. I can’t understand why more people aren’t up in arms about what’s going on. We should be ashamed of ourselves, I think. One minute you’re supplying bullets and bombs and guns, and then you’re sending over food. How does that work?”
