Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, and Jerry Seinfeld are among 700 Hollywood figures who have signed an open letter expressing solidarity with Israel amid the ongoing Hamas war.
Stars including Jamie Lee Curtis, Amy Schumer, Mayim Bialik, and Mark Hamill – who have previously spoken out over Israel’s escalating war with the terrorist organisation – added their names to the “first of its kind” letter “unequivocally voicing support for Israel and condemning Hamas”.
The letter was released by Creative Community For Peace, a non-profit entertainment industry organisation, on Thursday (12 October).
The organisation “calls on our friends and colleagues... to speak out forcefully against Hamas” and urged the safe return of at least 100 innocent civilians being held hostage, after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel killing more than 1,200 people.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on the terrorist group, ordering relentless, retaliatory airstrikes on cities in the Gaza strip.
More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed, with thousands more injured. The Health Ministry toldThe Independent on Thursday that “every” hospital was overflowing.
In its letter, the CCF also asked its signatories to stop the spread of misinformation “as Israel takes the necessary steps to defend its citizens in the coming days”.
In an accompanying statement, Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, who is Israeli, said: “My heart is aching for the lives lost and families shattered. I’m praying for everyone who has been affected by Hamas’s terrorism and brutality.
“And I hope that the world remains steadfast in their support of the Israeli people.”
Here is the full open letter:
The nightmare that Israelis have feared for decades became a reality as Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli cities and towns.
Under the cover of thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately into civilian populations, Hamas murdered and kidnapped innocent men, women, and children. They kidnapped and murdered infants and the elderly. They raped women and mutilated their bodies. They paraded their bodies through the streets and on social media, and cowardly attacked the Supernova Music Festival – bringing death and destruction to an event celebrating friendship and love.
This is terrorism. This is evil. There is no justification or rationalization for Hamas’ actions. These are barbaric acts of terrorism that must be called out by everyone. They are a terrorist organization whose leaders call for the murder of Jews everywhere.
CCFP calls on our friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry to speak out forcefully against Hamas and do whatever is in their power to urge the terrorist organization to return the innocent hostages to their families.
As Israel takes the necessary steps to defend its citizens in the coming days and weeks, social media will be overrun by an orchestrated misinformation campaign spearheaded by Iran. We urge everyone to remember the horrific images that came out of Israel and to not amplify or fall for their propaganda.
Our thoughts are with all those experiencing unfathomable levels of fear and violence, and we hope for the day when Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace.
On Friday 13 October, Israel made the unprecedented order for more than one million Palestinians to evacuate the northern regions of the Gaza Strip with immediate effect, which the United Nations has warned will have “devastating humanitarian consequences”.
Roughly half of the Gazan population has been given just 24 hours, effective from Friday morning, to head southward. Experts fear this could be the beginning of an Israeli ground offensive in the Strip.
A statement from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on X, formerly Twitter, said: “The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection and to move to the area south of the Wadi Gaza, as shown on the map.
“The Hamas terrorist organization waged a war against the State of Israel and Gaza City is an area where military operations take place. This evacuation is for your own safety.”
