Gigi Hadid apologizes for saying Israel 'abducts, tortures and rapes' Palestinians
U.S. supermodel of Palestinian descent said she regrets not 'fact-checking' the claim, condemned 'attacking any human, including Jewish people'
Gigi Hadid, a U.S. supermodel of Palestinian descent, on Tuesday apologized for falsely accusing Israel of kidnapping, torturing and sexually assaulting Palestinians following a backlash over disinformation. Earlier Hadid posted on her Instagram stories: "Israel is the only country in the world that keeps children as prisoners of war. Abduction, rape, humiliation, torture, murder of Palestinians years and years before October 7."
In her apology post on Instagram, the influencer wrote: "It is important to me to share real stories about the hardships that Palestinians have endured, but this weekend I shared something that I did not fact check or deeply think about prior to reposting."
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The model shared that for her, "as someone of Palestinian descent, the endless heartbreaking news and imagery coming out of Gaza have been painful and overwhelming."
"I was trying to highlight how Palestinian children who are arrested by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are often not given the same rights as an Israeli child accused of the same crime. Unfortunately, I used the wrong example to make that point and I regret it," she stated.
Hadid reiterated her commitment to the universality of human rights: "Attacking any human, which of course includes Jewish people, is NEVER OK." She condemned "taking innocent hostages" and harming people "because they are Jewish."
The influencer said she has "always condemned using the Free Palestine movement as justification for antisemitism."
"I will continue to pray for the safe return of all hostages and peace and safety for the people of Gaza and Israel."
The model also told her followers that her own family was among those displaced in the 1940s and cited "credible human rights organizations" that have documented "systematic mistreatment" of Palestinians. Her father Mohamed Hadid, who fled Nazareth for Lebanon during the 1948 War of Independence, is a well-known luxury real estate developer in Los Angeles.
Gigi Hadid, together with her celebrity sister Bella Hadid, has been an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause. Shortly after Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, she condemned terrorism saying that "terrorizing innocent people is not in alignment with and does not do any good for the ‘Free Palestine’ movement."
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