Celebrities

Israel's president hits back at Angelina Jolie's 'sick and angry' Gaza comments

Israel's president hits back at Angelina Jolie's 'sick and angry' Gaza comments
NEWS OF THE WEEK: Angelina Jolie calls for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war
Cover Media / VideoElephant

Israeli president Isaac Herzog has hit back at Angelina Jolie's comments about the situation in Gaza.

In a post shared to her Instagram last month, the actress said she was "sick and angry" from Hamas' 7 October attack on Southern Israel, adding that she was praying for the safe return of all hostages.

Jolie went on to say that Hamas' attack, that killed 1,405 people, does not 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."

Jolie, who has worked with refugees for the past 20 years, demanded a ceasefire.

"Palestinian and Israeli lives – and the lives of all people globally – matter equally," she wrote.

Earlier this week, Jolie shared another post of an "open-air prison" Gaza destruction caused by "deliberate bombing."

"While the world watches and with the active support of many governments, millions of Palestinian civilians - children, women, families - are being collectively punished and dehumanized, all while being deprived food, medicine and humanitarian aid against international law," she wrote.

"By refusing to demand a humanitarian ceasefire and blocking the UN Security Council from imposing one on both parties, world leaders are complicit in these crimes."

Speaking to Piers Morgan on Uncensored, Israeli president Herzog criticised Jolie's remarks and said he "totally rejects her claims."

He said: "I think she's never been in Gaza.... to visit and see the facts on the ground. In Gaza now there is war, but there is no humanitarian crisis that does not enable them to survive."

"There’s a major dramatic increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza which Israel has supported dramatically, in conjunction with the United States and United Nations and many other nations," he claimed.

Herzog continued: "The Gazan people can move there so we can uproot this terror regime. This is what we know. Angelina Jolie does not offer the Israeli people any ability to defend themselves by saying what she is saying.

Jolie's father Jon Voight also criticised his own daughter, saying he was "disappointed."

In a video posted to X/Twitter, Voight sat in front of a giant US flag ranting: "I am very disappointed that my daughter, like so many, has no understanding of God's honour, God's truths.

"This is about destroying the history of God's land - the Holy Land - the land of the Jews. This is justice for God's children of the holy land."

He continued: "The Israeli army must protect thy soil, thy people. This is war. It's not going to be what the left thinks, it can't be civil now."

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