Los Angeles: Actress Angelina Jolie condemned both the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) and the terrorist organisation Hamas for the onslaught that has ravaged the whole area of Gaza and has created a worrisome situation for the whole world with the ongoing war.
The Oscar-winning actress took to Instagram and wrote: “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. Above all, the children murdered, and the many children now orphaned.”
The ‘Girl Interrupted’ actress added: “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.”
For over two decades the actress has also been a human activist lending out her support to humanitarian causes. She has also worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, campaigning in support of forcibly displaced people around the world.
The ‘Original Sin’ actress first started her work with the UN in 2001 as a UN goodwill ambassador, and then in 2012 she became its special envoy. Last year, the actress decided to step down from her role with the UNHCR, saying at the time that she wanted to tackle a wider set of humanitarian and human rights issues, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
She continued: “My focus is on the people displaced by violence in any context,” Jolie’s statement read. “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 further mentioned: “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,” she added.
Since the Palestinian terror group launched its attack on Israel on October 7, the war has escalated to disastrous levels leading to a death toll in the thousands. In response to the attack, Israel has sealed off the Gaza Strip and retaliated with airstrikes.
Furthermore, the IDF has intensified its airstrikes and is now relentlessly bombing the area as the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu has declared his intention of flattening the entirety of Gaza. The IDF is further doing on-ground operations, participating in surgical strikes and targeting various Hamas outposts, cutting off their supply lines and eliminating their commanders.
–IANS