American actor, Angelina Jolie, has issued a statement calling for “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza after the brutal attacks between Israel and Hamas that started on October 7, and intensified ever since.
In a statement shared on Instagram, the Lara Croft actor wrote a lengthy statement over the humanitarian crisis taking place in the Gaza enclave.
“Like millions around the world I have spent the last weeks sick and angry at the terrorist attack in Israel, the death of so many innocent civilians, and wondering how best to help. I too am praying for the immediate, safe return of every hostage, and for the families who carry the unimaginable pain of a murder of a loved one,” Jolie began writing.
“Above all, the children murdered, and the many children now orphaned,” she shared.
Calling Hamas’ attack on Israel “an act of terror,” Jolie stated, “What happened in Israel is an act of terror. But that cannot justify the innocent lives lost in bombing a civilian population in Gaza that has nowhere to go, no access to food or water, no possibility of evacuation, and not even the basic human right to cross a border to seek refuge.”
She then continued how her close work with refugees allows her to focus on the displaced people. “Because of my work with refugees for 20 years, my focus is on the people displaced by violence in any context. Gaza has a population of over 2 million people (half of them children), who have lived under a severe blockade for nearly two decades, on top of decades of displacement and statelessness,” she wrote.
“The few aid trucks that are entering are a fraction of what is needed (and was delivered daily before the present conflict), and the bombings are causing desperate new humanitarian needs daily. The denial of aid, fuel and water is collectively punishing a people. Humanity demands an immediate ceasefire. Palestinian and Israeli lives – and the lives of all people globally- matter equally.”
“Anything that can prevent civilian casualties and save lives must be done. Like many others I have donated to medical relief efforts. I have chosen to support the work of Doctors Without Borders and have been closely following their reporting,” Jolie concluded.
Angered by her statement that oscillated between biased and neutral, social media users lambasted Jolie, and called her out to speak the truth.
Angelina Jolie meets flood-affected people in southern Pakistan
