Angelina Jolie Takes Strong Stance Against Israelโ€™s Retaliation in Gaza

Angelina Jolie is drawing a line in the sand on the Israel-Palestine issue โ€” and considering her well-documented humanitarian work worldwide โ€ฆ her position here is interesting

The actress โ€” whoโ€™s moved into more of a public service role over the past decade or so โ€” posted a lengthy statement this weekend addressing the war in the Middle East โ€ฆ and she says quite clearly, the ongoing offensive that Israelโ€™s undertaking in Gaza isnโ€™t right.

She starts by sympathizing with Israelis that were victimized in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack carried out by Hamas โ€” saying, like millions of others, she too was sickened/angry about all those who were killed, especially kids โ€ฆ adding she prays for the safe return of hostages.

However, she then writes this โ€ฆ โ€œWhat 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.โ€

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AJ cites her many years of experience in this field, saying that there is a desperate need for aid in the area โ€” and that Israelโ€™s response is only making matters worse. She adds, โ€œThe denial of aid, fuel and water is collectively punishing a people. Humanity demands an immediate ceasefire. Palestinian and Israeli lives โ€” and the lives of all people globally โ€” matter equally. Anything that can prevent civilian casualties and save lives must be done.โ€

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Angelina goes on to say sheโ€™s donated to medical relief efforts for Gaza, and spotlighted Doctors Without Borders as an org sheโ€™s supporting and following at this time.

As far as how Israelโ€™s proceeding at this point โ€ฆ it looks like itโ€™s full steam ahead. Their ground operation into Gaza is intensifying โ€” and PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said this now marks the โ€œsecond stageโ€ of what he says is going to be a long and difficult war.

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Gaza is in a blackout at the moment โ€” with no lines of communication to the outside world โ€” something Elon Musk says heโ€™ll help fix with Internet access โ€ฆ albeit, only to internationally recognized humanitarian groups in the area โ€ฆ something Israel strongly objects to.

The U.S. certainly feels divided on this conflict โ€” and there have been fierce protests and demonstrations on both sides โ€ฆ with a notable pro-Palestine sentiment in the streets.

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As for Angelina โ€ฆ sheโ€™s taken a firm stance. Basically, sheโ€™s telling Israel to stand down.