Top Hollywood celebs, including Cate Blanchett, Joaquin Phoenix, Florence Pugh and Ramy Youssef, wrote a letter to US President Joe Biden where they have urged him to call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas.
"We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost," the letter said.
"More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians," the content of the letter read.
"We urge your administration, and all world leaders, to honour all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are children, and more than two-thirds are refugees and their descendants being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach them," the letter further said.
The actors said they believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in ending the suffering of people due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, more aid arrived in Gaza on Sunday (October 22, 2023) aboard 14 trucks that passed through the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt, Martin Griffiths, the UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator said in a post on social media.
In a statement published on X, Griffiths described the supplies provided by the Egyptian Red Cross and the UN as “another glimmer of hope for the millions of people in dire need of humanitarian aid”, adding “but they need more, much more".
