Bella Hadid paid tribute to her Palestinian heritage and the plight of those displaced by Israeli conflict during an appearance at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. The supermodel inevitably commanded attention as she arrived in the French resort town wearing a stylish Tom Ford co-ord and heavily tinted sunglasses ahead of a busy week of back-to-back premieres.
But it was the accessories that caught the eye, with 29-year-old Hadid, whose father Mohamed is of Palestinian descent, sporting a Palestine key necklace over her cropped mock-neck top. A symbol of resistance against oppression, the key-shaped accessory is an homage to the 750,000 Palestinian-Arabs who were forced from their homes with little more than their house keys during the 1948 Nakba - interpreted as the 'catastrophe.' The enforced displacement and seizure of Palestinian land, property, and belongings by Israel, three years after the collapse of Nazi Germany, affected almost half of Palestine's largely Arab population.
Political Statements at Cannes
Hadid's reference to Israeli oppression follows a series of similar political statements, notably her decision to wear a dress fashioned from a Keffiyeh during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Outside of the Middle East and North Africa, the Keffiyeh has gained popularity among pro-Palestinian activists and is widely considered to be a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinians in their fight against Israel.
The show of support came after Hadid was publicly fact-checked for posting pictures taken in a Syrian refugee camp as she voiced support for Gaza and Palestinians. The supermodel had shared an image of children in Yarmouk after an assault by dictator Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war in 2013. Captioning the post, she wrote: 'Thousands of innocents Palestinian men women and CHILDREN imprisoned without trial.' But Syrian-Americans were quick to call out the model over the misleading posts on the war.
'This is not the first time she's done this with these SAME IMAGES of children from Yarmouk,' wrote American Enterprise Institute media strategist Kareem Rifai at the time. 'Completely unacceptable and irresponsible for a mega-celebrity with massive reach. Syrians are still being killed by Assad every day.'
Public Statement on Gaza Conflict
Hadid spoke publicly for the first time about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, saying that 'there is an urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza that must be attended to' in an Instagram post in October last year. She shared a detailed statement calling for pressure to be put on political leaders to 'stand together in defending humanity and compassion.' The supermodel spoke about the sensitive issue more than two weeks after her sister Gigi talked publicly about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
'I have yet to find the ideal words for this deeply intricate and horrific past two weeks, weeks that have turned the world's attention back toward a situation that has been taking innocent lives, and affecting families for decades,' she said. 'I have much to say, but for today, I will keep it short.'
'I've been sent hundreds of death threats daily, my phone number has been leaked, and my family has felt to be in danger. But I cannot be silenced any longer. Fear is not an option. The people and children of Palestine, especially in Gaza, cannot afford our silence. We are not brave - they are.'
She said that 'seeing the aftermath of airstrikes in Gaza, I mourn with all the mothers who have lost children and the children who cry alone, all the lost fathers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, friends, that will never again walk this earth. Regardless of the history of the land, I condemn the terrorist attacks on any civilians, anywhere. Harming women and children and inflicting terror does not, and should not do any good for the Free Palestine movement.'
Hadid also addressed the plight of 'the Israeli families that have been dealing with the pain and aftermath of' the October 7 attack from Hamas, saying she 'mourned' for them. 'I believe deep in my heart that no child, no people anywhere, should be taken away from their family either temporarily or indefinitely,' she said. 'That goes for Israeli and Palestine people alike.' She added: 'My heart is bleeding with pain from the trauma I am seeing unfold, as well as the generational trauma of my Palestinian blood.'
