An escalation in the Israel-Palestine conflict, which has seen dozens killed in a matter of days, has prompted international concern and worries about the potential of an all-out war.
Israeli air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip and rocket fire from the enclave’s ruling Hamas group this week mark the biggest flare-up since the seven-week Israeli war on Gaza in 2014.
Israeli bombardment has killed at least 83 Palestinians in Gaza, including 17 children, since Monday, according to the coastal enclave’s health ministry.
Seven people have also been killed in Israel, which on Thursday accused Hamas of having launched more than 1,600 rockets.
The conflict has gripped the international news agenda and led to global calls for de-escalation.
It has also attracted the attention of leading public figures and celebrities, including the Palestinian-Dutch models Bella and Gigi Hadid, the singer Rihanna, Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, and Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
Their comments were met with mixed reactions online, with many criticising Gadot for pushing Israeli “propaganda”, and some slamming Rihanna for taking an apparently neutral stance.
Here are some of those posts:
Bella Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, posted a message of support for Palestinians on her Instagram account, which at the time of publishing had been liked by more than one million users.
“Future generations will look back in disbelief and wonder how we allowed the Palestinian suffering to continue for so long. A human tragedy unfolding right in front of our eyes,” the 24-year-old’s post said.
“Politicians stutter neutral words in fear of being reprimanded, whilst the world remains silent to avoid offending the wrong people. History has taught us to speak up. You are on the right side or you are not. It’s that simple.”
One Twitter user commented, while sharing a screenshot of Hadid’s post: “Everyone should be speaking up about what’s happening in Palestine.”
Another said: “Miss Bella Hadid – one of the highest paid models can do posts and awareness on Palestine but ur fav Muslim influencers can’t because of a L’Oréal brand deal lol.”
Bella’s sister Gigi also posted on Instagram in support of Palestine.
