Bella Hadid says she “cannot be silenced any longer” following alleged death threats she and her famous family have received over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. On Instagram, the outspoken supermodel posted a written statement mourning the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives over the past three weeks. In the same post, she shared that she’s been doxxed and has been sent “hundreds of death threats daily.”
“Forgive me for my silence,” Hadid wrote Thursday night. “I have yet to find the ideal words for this deeply intricate and horrific past 2 weeks, weeks that have turned the world’s attention back towards a situation that has been taking innocent lives and affecting families for decades.”
She continued: “My heart is bleeding with pain from the trauma I am seeing unfold, as well as the generational trauma of my Palestinian blood. Seeing the aftermath of the airstrikes in Gaza, I mourn with all the mothers who have lost children and the children who cry alone, all the lost fathers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, friends that will never again walk this Earth.”
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Hadid also extended her condolences to Israelis following the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7. “Regardless of the history of the land, I condemn the terrorist attacks on any civilians, anywhere. Harming women and children and inflicting terror does not and should not do any good for the Free Palestine movement. I believe deep in my heart, that no child, no people anywhere, should be taken away from their family either temporarily or indefinitely.”
The 27-year-old model—whose father, Mohamed Hadid, is Palestinian—also explained how her family became refugees during the 1948 Nakba, when at least 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes. She ended her post by urging political leaders “not to forget the urgent needs of the people of Gaza and ensure that innocent Palestinian civilians are not the forgotten casualties of this war.”
Hadid’s message comes a week after her older sister Gigi Hadid was called out by the State of Israel’s Instagram account for a graphic she re-posted that partially stated, “There is nothing Jewish about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians.” The same week, TMZ reported that the entire Hadid family, including Bella and Gigi’s brother, Anwar, and their mother, Yolanda—had been doxxed and were receiving “graphic” death threats over their past support of Palestine.
Bella’s statement is already the subject of intense debate on social media. While some appreciated her continued outspokenness about Palestinian rights, others have accused her of “sitting on the fence” and criticized her framing of Hamas as committing “terror.” In response to that criticism, users have acknowledged that she and her family are in a difficult position regarding their safety.
In the past, Bella has received backlash from Israel’s official accounts for attending a pro-Palestine rally. Presumably, it’s only a matter of time before their social media manager once again goes off on the model.
