Humanity demands an immediate ceasefire: Angelina Jolie speaks up about Israel-Palestine issue

Fierce air and artillery strikes rang out in Gaza early on Monday as Israeli troops backed by tanks pressed into the Palestinian enclave with a ground assault that prompted more international calls for civilians to be protected.

Israel's military said it had struck more than 600 militant targets over the past few days as it expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian civilians are in dire need of fuel, food, and clean water as the war enters its fourth week.

Actor and philanthropist Angelina Jolie is another voice to have joined calls for immediate ceasefire amid intensifying humanitarian crisis. Sharing a carousel post on her official Instagram account, the Academy Award winner began, “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.” 

She further expressed, “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.”

The Lara Croft actor invoked her extensive work in humanitarian relief as the former Special Envoy to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, stating, “Gaza has a population of over two 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.” 

Jolie expressed concerns about the Israeli blockade of Gaza. “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 actor insisted, “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.”

Concluding her note, Jolie announced, “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.

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