Palestinian-American supermodel Gigi Hadid and Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, have broke their silence on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine which has claimed at least 1900 lives on both sides.
Malala Yousafzai
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, October 10, Malala expressed her concern, stating, “I join the call for an immediate ceasefire. As I have processed the tragic news of the past days, I think of the Palestinian and Israeli children caught in the middle.”
During her childhood in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, the renowned education activist recalled, “We woke up to the sounds of mortar shells, saw our schools and mosques destroyed by bombs. Peace became something we could only dream about.”
Malala highlighted the indiscriminate suffering caused by war, stating that it never spares children, including those kidnapped from Israel, hiding from airstrikes, or without food and water in Gaza.
Malala expressed her profound sorrow for the children and people who long for peace and justice in the Holy Land.
Gigi Hadid
Taking to Instagram, on Wednesday, October 11, 28-year-old Hadid described the ongoing conflict as an “unjustifiable tragedy”.
“I have deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle and life under occupation; it’s a responsibility I hold daily. I also feel a responsibility to my Jewish friends to make it clear, as I have before: While I have hopes and dreams for Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person,” she wrote on Instagram.
“The terrorizing of 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-and-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 = antisemitic,” Hadid added.
Gigi Hadid expressed her condolences to those affected by the conflict and emphasized the importance of protecting innocent lives in her statement.
“If you are hurting, as I share my condolences today with my loved ones, both Palestinian and Jewish, I’m sending you my love and strength, whoever and wherever you are,” she wrote.”There are a lot of complex, personal, and valid feelings, but every human deserves basic rights, treatment, and security, no matter their nationality, religion, ethnicity, or where they were both.”
Hadid acknowledges that her words may not be sufficient to heal the deep wounds of many, but she prays for the safety of innocent lives.
The ongoing Hamas attack and military action by Israel has sparked reactions from global leaders, public figures, and celebrities.
Gal Gadot, Amy Schumer, Mia Khalifa, Kylie Jenner and Mark Ruffalo, among others, expressed their opinion on the ongoing conflict.
On Saturday, October 7, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an operation against Israel, infiltrating through land, air, and sea, in response to repeated storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence against Palestinians. The attack coincided with Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday known as “Israel’s 9/11” and the deadliest day in Israel in 50 years.
In retaliation, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
