Palestinian food blogger Hamada Sho can no longer feed Gaza’s children
In an essay for TIME Magazine, the man known for creating joy during times of devastation, describes his helplessness.
Madonna has called on Pope Leo to visit Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the region, asking him to “bring your light to the children before it’s too late”.
“As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering. The children of the world belong to everyone. You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry,” the pop star wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.
“We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children,” she continued. “There is no more time.”
In her caption, Madonna continued her plea. “Politics cannot effect change. Only consciousness can,” she wrote. “Therefore, I am reaching out to a man of God.”
“Today is my son Rocco’s birthday,” she added. “I feel the best gift I can give to him as a mother is to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza. I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides. Everyone is suffering.”
Encouraging followers to join her in donating to relief efforts, Madonna concluded, “I am merely trying to do what I can to keep these children from dying of starvation.”
Tagging World Central Kitchen, Women Wage Peace, and Women of the Sun, she urged everyone who wants to help to donate to the mentioned organisations. At the end of her post, she tagged Pope Leo.
Madonna’s post comes as Israel continues to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, and its assault on the area approaches the two-year mark.
For months, humanitarian aid organisations and international bodies have warned that Gaza is facing “critical” levels of hunger and that famine is “imminent” in parts of the Gaza Strip. A report released in late July by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global initiative that monitors hunger, stated that “the worst-case scenario of famine is playing out in the Gaza Strip,” and that “access to food and other essential items and services has plummeted to unprecedented levels.”
A UN expert condemned Israel’s blockade as deliberate starvation, genocide, and crime against humanity. The WHO described Gaza’s situation as “man-made mass starvation,” citing soaring malnutrition and constrained aid access. In July alone, over 5,100 children were admitted to malnutrition programmes, including 800 critically ill. As of this month, 197 deaths, including that of 96 children, have been attributed to hunger.
The Vatican has yet to respond to Madonna’s post.