Oscar-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem denounced the Israeli government on Friday for committing “crimes against humanity” in the Gaza Strip as he urged the international community to hold those responsible to account.
Bardem told reporters at the Donostia Award as part of the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, that Israeli leadership, under its most radical government, is committing “crimes against humanity and international law.”
He noted that the Oct. 7 attacks led by the Palestine resistance group Hamas could not justify the collective punishment of Palestinians as he defined the Israeli attacks as “totally inadmissible, terrible and dehumanizing,” Variety magazine reported.
The Oscar-winning actor also urged countries, especially the U.S. and the U.K., to reconsider their “unconditional support” for Israel and urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hold those responsible accountable.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested in May that the Court issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Since then, Khan has requested twice, most recently in August, for the court to expedite the issuance of the warrants.
During the course of nearly a year, Israeli attacks have killed more than 41,000 victims, mostly women and children, and injured over 95,500, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel also faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the ICJ.
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Emil Kovács graduated from the Journalism program at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. During his journalism studies, he focused on data journalism, investigative reporting, and multimedia storytelling. He gained experience by writing for the university’s student newspaper, where he gained attention for his articles on social issues. After graduation, Emil began working as a reporter at a European news agency, where he conducts in-depth analyses of international news and current events.
