The sisters and their father, Mohamed Anwar Hadid, of Palestinian origin, have been very vocal in their support for the people in Gaza

US model Bella Hadid arrives for the screening of the film L’Amour Ouf (Beating Hearts) at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes (AFP)

Bella and Gigi Hadid, the United States-based supermodels, have decided to donate $1 million to Palestinian relief efforts. As per a BBC report, the donation will distributed equitably among all organisations undertaking humanitarian efforts for the war-torn people in Gaza. More than 36,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have died in Israeli airstrikes, which began in October 2023.

The sisters and their Palestinian origin father Mohamed Anwar Hadid, have been very vocal in their support for the Palestine cause. The supermodels regularly share pictures of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and made it clear that they don’t have any ill feelings towards the Jewish people.

“My thoughts are with all those affected by this unjustifiable tragedy and every day that innocent lives are taken by this conflict – too many of which are children. I have deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle and life under occupation; it’s a responsibility I hold daily. While I have hopes and dreams for Palestinians, none of them includes the harm of a Jewish person,” Gigi Hadid wrote in one of her Instagram posts in solidarity with Palestinian people in Gaza.

Israel ministers threaten to quit on Biden’s Gaza truce plan

Two days after US President Joe Biden laid out a three-stage truce plan in Gaza, the suspense from the Israeli side continues, even as Hamas shows interest in pursuing the strategy. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under immense from the far-right ministers in his Cabinet, who are threatening to step down if the government moves forward with Biden’s plan.

“We demand the continuation of the war until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages return,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on X. He asserted his opposition to the return of displaced Gazans to the territory’s north and the “wholesale release of terrorists”.

The National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who never shy away from expressing his honest opinions, said that his party would “dissolve the government” if the deal went through and slammed the proposal as “a victory for terrorism and a security risk to the State of Israel”.

On Friday, Joe Biden presented what he described as a three-step Gaza truce plan: initiating a six-week truce that includes hostage and prisoner exchanges along with enhanced aid efforts, then shifting to securing a lasting cease-fire and withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza, and ultimately, focusing on extensive reconstruction efforts.