The Israel-Hamas war has polarized celebrities who typically speak out about their beliefs, and Palestinian-American supermodel Gigi Hadid is facing outrage on social media for her recent comments. In a now-deleted Instagram post, the 28-year-old model—whose dad is Palestinian—accused Israel of a litany of crimes against humanity and claimed it was “the only country in the world that keeps children as prisoners of war.”
In her post, Gigi cited the case of Ahmed Almanasra, a 20-year-old who was among 39 women and children recently released from Israeli jails as part of a hostage exchange deal with Hamas. The Victoria’s Secret model shared a picture of the teen, who was arrested in 2015 after he and his brother attacked two Israeli security guards at a mall in the Israeli city of Pisgat Zeev. The supermodel wrote, “Israel is committing kidnapping, rape, robbery, humiliation, torture, and murder of Palestinians ‘years and years and years’ before Oct 7.”
Gigi then shared an old video that purported to show organ harvesting in Israel—a claim that has been debunked numerous times. While the video may have been taken out of context, there was talk of various procedures used at the Institute of Forensic Medicine regarding organ donation and transplantation—not the killing and abduction of people to sell their organs. In the days since Gigi posted her post, she has been criticized for spreading false information and for fueling antisemitism. She has been urged to apologize and remove her posts.
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Several other celebrities have spoken out in support of Palestine and against Israel, including Israeli actress Gal Gadot, Natalie Portman, and Kerry Washington. But others, including actors Jennifer Garner and Reese Witherspoon, have stayed silent or offered more measured comments. The war has also polarized the Jewish community, and there have been reports of hate speech and threats against Jewish and Muslim Americans.
The controversy over Gigi’s remarks erupted just as the first group of Palestinian prisoners were released as part of the truce deal with Hamas. During the hours before the release, a man was charged with a hate crime in Michigan for posting on Facebook about wanting to “go to Dearborn and hunt Palestinians.”
Gigi’s Instagram comments came as Israel and Hamas agreed to an immediate ceasefire starting Friday morning. The two sides will then try to reach a long-term agreement. It’s unclear whether or when a second group of Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons. Still, the Israeli government says it will only accept a deal in which all those who were captured during the conflict are freed. In the meantime, hundreds of protestors gathered outside Textron’s Providence Place mall in Rhode Island last week as part of a worldwide effort to shut down businesses that support Israel and boycott companies with ties to Israel. The mall was open, however, despite the protests. Textron is a company that deals with defense, aircraft, and industrial equipment. TMZ has reached out to the company for comment.