Skip to main content

Rafah massacre: Dua Lipa calls for end of Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza

In Instagram post, British singer calls for solidarity with Palestinians, saying 'burning children' can never be justified
British singer-songwriter Dua Lipa arrives for the 2024 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2024, in New York (Angela Weiss / AFP)
British singer-songwriter Dua Lipa arrives for the 2024 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 6 May 2024 (Angela Weiss / AFP)

British singer Dua Lipa has called for solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's "genocide" in Gaza.

Writing on her Instagram page, she said that “burning children alive can never be justified", referring to an Israeli strike over the weekend on a displacement camp in southern Gaza's Rafah that killed dozens of Palestinians.

"The whole world is mobilising to stop the Israeli genocide. Please show your solidarity with Gaza," she said.

On Sunday, at least 45 people were killed and dozens more wounded, most of them women and children, when Israel struck a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood of western Rafah.

That strike led Hamas to inform mediators it was ending its participation in ceasefire talks aimed at ending the war on Gaza, Middle East Eye reported.

Stay informed with MEE's newsletters

Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked

 

Key US allies like France slammed the bombing, which sparked a massive blaze that tore through displaced people's tents. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged" by the strike. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrel condemned the strike in “the strongest terms”.

Lipa previously called for a ceasefire in Gaza in January. The singer was born in London to parents from Kosovo, and moved back to the country after it declared independence in 2008.

She has cited that background as influencing her views on the current conflict in Gaza.

"From my experience of being in Kosovo and understanding what war does, no one really wants to leave their home," she wrote in January.

"They do it for protection, to save their family, to look after the people around them, that kind of thing, for a better life. So I feel close to it.”

On Tuesday, the International Court of Justice announced that Mexico had filed a declaration of intervention to back South Africa's genocide case against Israel.

Mexico’s move places it on a growing list of countries accusing Israel of violating the UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention.

Since January, Colombia and Libya have also declared their intention to join the case. Other countries including Egypt and Turkey have said they will join.  

Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.