Gigi Hadid has issued a statement addressing the deadly Israel-Hamas conflict, after Hamas terrorists and Islamic Jihad launched an unprecedented “massacre of civilians” from Gaza.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was at war and warned Palestinians would pay a heavy price, after hundreds were killed in the attack and hundreds more taken hostage.
The death toll in Gaza from Israel’s retaliatory strikes has passed 900, with around 4,500 wounded. More than 1,200 Israeli’s have been killed.
In what has been called a “complete siege”, Israel has cut off water, fuel and electricity supplies to the Gaza strip, while tens of thousands of Israeli troops have massed at the border.
US supermodel Hadid, who is half-Palestinian, condemned the “terrorising of innocent people” in her statement issued on Tuesday (10 October), writing that her dreams for a free Palestine are not at the cost of Jewish people.
“While I have hopes and dreams for Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person,” Hadid wrote on Instagram.
She added that inflicting terror on innocent people is “not in alignment with and does not do any good for the Free Palestine movement”.
“The idea that it does has fueled a painful, decades-long cycle of back & forth retaliation (which no innocent civilian, Palestinian or Israeli deserves to be a casualty of), and helps perpetuate the false idea that being Pro-Palestine [is equal to] antisemitic,” she continued.
Hadid acknowleged a multitude of “complex, personal, and valid feelings” while affirming that every human being is deserving of basic rights and security irrespective of “their nationality, religion, ethnicity, or where they were born”.
“I pray for the safety of innocent lives, always,” she concluded.
Hadid’s sister, fellow supermodel Bella Hadid has not yet commented on the escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine. Their father, American real-estate developer Mohamed Anwar Hadid is a Palestinian immigrant.
In the past few days, celebrities such as Madonna, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Schumer, and Sarah Silverman have also shared their stance on the ongoing conflict.
“My heart is shattered for the people of Israel,” Portman wrote. “Children, women and the elderly have been murdered and abducted from their own homes. I am in horror at these barbaric acts and my heart is pounding with love and prayer for the families of all affected.”
Natalie Portman shared a statement on the deadly Israel-Hamas conflict— (2023 Invision)
Mark Ruffalo quoted Jerusalem-based American author Nathan Thrall, in response to the “horror [that] is unfolding between the Israeli Government and Hamas today” on X.
“I received a note today from Nathan Thrall, journalist and author of A Day In The Life of Abed Salama that resonated deeply with me,” the Hulk actor wrote. “I wanted to share his words as we all watch in horror what is unfolding between the Israeli Government and Hamas today.
“It is horrific to see innocent civilians killed and held hostage, and there is no justification for it. We pray for their safety, as we pray for the safety of the innocent people of Gaza who are being bombarded and besieged.”
