Israeli actress Gal Gadot recently took to social media and said that the "world has failed women'' who were targeted and killed during the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. She called on the United Nations to demand that Hamas release every female hostage.
The actress took to Instagram and shared a post which read, "The world has failed the women of October 7th. We claim we stand against rape, violence against women. We will not let women be victimized and then silenced. We say we believe women. Stand with women. Speak out for women."
Shani Louk, a German woman who was captured and killed by Hamas operatives. The 23-year-old was taken hostage when she was attending the Supernova music festival near the Gaza border, which became one of the targets of a surprise Hamas attack on October 7. Talking about her, she said, "On October 7th. The world witnessed Hamas carrying out its violent plans in real time. Within hours of the October 7th attack, the first blood-chilling video emerged of Shani Louk being paraded naked and defiled by her proud assailants. Yet two months later women are still hostage to these rapists and the world has failed to call this situation what it is: an urgent emergency that demands a decisive response."
The 'Wonder Woman' star urged the world to act and demand the release of every woman hostage immediately. "This is our moment as women and allies of women to act. I am beseeching all those who have done so much for women's rights globally from the UN, to the human rights community to please join in the demand that Hamas release every single woman hostage immediately - not after the next round of international mediation. Not after another day. These women cannot survive another moment of this horror," she wrote.
Ms Gadot has been vocal about her support for her country which witnessed the death of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 240 hostages taken, according to Israeli authorities. Meanwhile, heavy bombardments and a ground offensive by Israel have killed more than 15,500 people in Gaza, about 70 per cent of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
In November, the actress faced backlash after she organised a Hollywood screening of a 47-minute film that documents the horrors carried out by Hamas during a surprise attack on Israel on October 7. The video was provided by the Israeli Defence Forces. The film "Bearing Witness" featured "extremely graphic and violent" footage including some clips shot by members of Hamas. However, the screening was marred as multiple fights broke out in conjunction. The actress did not attend the screening in person.
Although Ms Gadot, who served in the Israeli Defence Forces before pursuing acting, has not issued a statement about the same, several people have slammed her for not talking about the Palestinian death toll and the atrocities faced by the people living in Gaza.
