Gigi Hadid Apologizes For Sharing False Info About Israel Mistreating Palestinian Kids

Supermodel Gigi Hadid has apologized for a post shared on her Instagram stories on the Israel-Hamas war. 

Hadid previously accused Israel of committing multiple crimes against Palestinian children before the Hamas attack in October. Now, in her apology, Hadid said she was only trying to highlight human rights issues suffered by Palestinians.

Hadid also prayed for peace and safety of all hostages in both Gaza and Israel. The model's lengthy apology comes amid reports that both Israel and Hamas violated their ceasefire after seven weeks. 

Hadid released an apology statement on Instagram for a post she made that was not "fact-checked." Over the weekend, the Palestinian-American model made a now-deleted post accusing Israel of committing multiple crimes against Palestinian children before Hamas' attack on October 7.

In a lengthy statement on her social media, Hadid said, "As someone of Palestinian descent, the endless heartbreaking news and imagery coming out of Gaza has been painful and often overwhelming."

She continued, "It is important to me to share real stories about the hardships that Palestinians have endured and continue to endure, but this weekend I shared something that I did not fact-check or deeply think about prior to reposting."

Hadid wrote that she was only trying to highlight how the Israeli government has allegedly severely undermined international law in their treatment of Palestinians, especially when the kids are accused of crimes. She talked about how different the treatment of Palestinian children is in comparison to Israeli kids.

The model's statement further read, "Unfortunately, I used the wrong example to make that point and I regret that. My focus was intended to be on human rights issues. That is why I also want to reiterate that attacking any human, which of course included Jewish people, is NEVER OK. Taking innocent people hostage is NEVER OK. Harming someone BECAUSE they are Jewish is NEVER OK. It is wrong."

Hadid wrote that it's important to her that Palestinians and Jewish people enjoy "freedom and humane treatment." She said, "No matter the crime, when speaking about democracy, everyone should have the same rights – and a Palestinian child, even if he is accused of a horrific crime, deserves the same rights that an Israeli child would have under the same circumstance."

In her apology statement, Hadid mentioned the heavy documentation done by human rights organizations on the mistreatment of Palestinians by the Israeli government. She wrote, "I know these historical issues well because they are the history of my own family. Palestinians who were forced to flee their homeland in the late 1940s."

However, the supermodel recognized that she'd made a mistake by not fact-checking the post. 

"At the same time, I understand that with the power of my platform comes a huge responsibility. I'm human and I make mistakes. But I also hold myself accountable for those mistakes," Hadid noted.

She emphasized to her millions of fans that she doesn't stand for spreading misinformation and has "always condemned using the Free Palestine movement as justification for anti-Semitism." 

The 28-year-old concluded the statement by saying that she'll always bring attention to "violations of international law and human rights" and keep praying for peace and the safety of all people in both Gaza and Israel.

Hadid's controversial post and apology come amid reports that Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating their ceasefire agreement. The ceasefire had been in place since November 24 to give civilians seven weeks of peace amid the ongoing war.

Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida released a statement on Telegram earlier today regarding Israel's actions. It read, per Metro, "As a result of the enemy violating the terms of the truce today, there has been a field clash today and our mujahedeen dealt with the violation. We are committed to the truce as long as the enemy is."

On the other hand, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari accused Hamas of activating three explosives near Israeli troops stationed in Gaza. He said, "In one of the locations, terrorists also opened fire at the troops, who responded with fire. A number of soldiers were lightly injured during the incidents. In both incidents, the troops were located in positions as per the framework of the operational pause."

Amid the truce, both sides have successfully released over 51 Israeli hostages and 115 Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli government.