The mother of Maya Shem holds a photo of her daughter, who was abducted into the Gaza Strip after the deadly infiltration of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 17, 2023. Hamas published a video of Shem. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
American actress and producer Jessica Chastain on Monday backed calls for the immediate return of some 199 hostages abducted from Israel by the Hamas terrorist organization and taken back to the Gaza Strip.
Chastain shared a video on X/Twitter from the recently released #BringThemHomeNow campaign featuring an Israeli mother and wife named Lior Katz-Natanson talking about members of her family, including her sister, brother, nieces, mother and her mother’s boyfriend, who were taken by Hamas.
Chastain added a personal message in the caption of the video.
“This is not a political issue,” he wrote George and Tammy star. “This is not part of Israeli propaganda and does not attempt to justify any military action. This is a human and humanitarian issue. Innocent civilians should not be involved in war. There are about 200 hostages, among them women, children, Holocaust survivors and elderly people.”
This is not a political issue. This is not part of Israeli propaganda and does not attempt to justify any military action. This is a human and humanitarian issue. Innocent civilians should not be involved in war. There are about 200 hostages, among them women, children, the Holocaust… pic.twitter.com/JDvj41FD9d
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) October 16, 2023
The campaign encourages social media users to share videos of Israelis asking for the return of loved ones abducted by Hamas, with the accompanying hashtag #BringThemHomeNow. The goal is to spread awareness of the brutality of the Hamas terrorist attack and “ensure that these families find comfort in knowing they are not alone in calling for the safe return of their loved ones,” the campaign’s website says. . Videos are available in English, Hebrew, German, Spanish, French and Italian.
Separately posts on X/Twitter Monday, Chastain called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as well as for sending humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. She previously published about hundreds of young men and women who were killed or taken hostage by Hamas at an Israeli music festival on October 7, when the Palestinian terrorist group launched a large-scale attack on Israel and killed more than 1,400 Israelis.