The retired soccer star reposted a UNICEF statement condemning Sunday's attack, which killed at least 45 displaced Palestinians, and called for a ceasefire.
David Beckham arrives at “Good Morning America” in New York City on May 16, 2024. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer Griffin/GC Images)
British soccer star David Beckham posted a message on his Instagram account on Tuesday, joining the growing calls for a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza.
Beckham, 49, reposted a statement from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) calling for a ceasefire on his Instagram Story.
Beckham supported the words of UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, who condemned Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza and the escalation of brutal attacks in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
The statement was referring to a deadly attack on Sunday in a displaced camp in the Tal al-Sultan area, northwest of Rafah, that left at least 45 civilians dead, including women, children and elderly people.
A fire caused by Israeli artillery fire destroyed the tents in which they had taken shelter, burning many of the victims to death.
The attack injured hundreds of civilians and drew worldwide condemnation.
“The images of burnt children and families emerging from bombed-out tents in Rafah shocked us all. Reports that children have been killed while taking shelter in makeshift tents are outrageous,” Russell said in a statement.
Russell also condemned the “tragedy” that came as Israel continues its offensive across the besieged area for more than seven months, adding: “We need an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the senseless killing of children.”
The Israeli offensive has completely destroyed the Gaza Strip, killing at least 36,096 people, many of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, though the death toll is likely much higher as thousands of victims are trapped under rubble.
Beckham, who has been a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador since 2005, has never previously commented on the Gaza war.
His previous silence about the Gaza war and the plight of Palestinian children is a stark departure from his past work helping children in other conflicts.
In March 2022, following the outbreak of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Beckham handed over control of his official Instagram account to a Ukrainian doctor working in the city of Kharkiv.
His reporting provided first-hand information on how the conflict has affected Ukrainian women and children.
This was followed by the football legend and his wife Victoria Beckham donating £1 million to a UNICEF appeal to help Ukrainian children affected by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Beckham's daughter-in-law, Nicola Peltz, the daughter of Jewish billionaire Nelson Peltz, is a vocal pro-Zionist and has frequently shared pro-Israel posts since October 7, leading some social media users to draw a connection between this and Beckham's silence.
But other sports stars have been increasingly vocal about the devastating crisis that has been unfolding in Gaza for months.
Another well-known English soccer star, Gary Lineker, also vowed not to remain silent about the atrocities committed in the territory.
“The reality is, this issue doesn't concern me directly. I'm not Muslim. I'm not Jewish. I'm not Israeli. I'm not Palestinian.
“I'm coming at it purely from an outside, neutral perspective, and I've never seen anything worse in my life. There's a constant stream of footage of children losing their lives every day,” he said in an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan on May 10.
“Whenever I see the images on social media, it makes me cry.”
