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Israel Says It ‘Will Remember Those Who Spoke Up’ About Six Hostages Murdered by Hamas
Gwyneth Paltrow. Photo: IPA/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Israel released a statement on its official X/Twitter account on Monday thanking celebrities and others who have spoken out publicly on social media about the six hostages who were executed by Hamas terrorists and brought back to the Jewish state by the Israeli military for burial on Sunday.
“We will remember those of you who spoke up. We will remember those of you who remained silent,” the message said. “Thank you to those of you who have used your platforms to ensure the voices of the hostages are heard. To those of you who have not, it’s not too late.”
The post on X included screenshots of statements released by Israeli actress Gal Gadot and American actress and “Goop” founder Gwyneth Paltrow following the announcement about the murder of the hostages.
“They survived almost 11 months in captivity and then were murdered by Hamas. People who became an inseparable part of our hearts, families who waited so long for a different end, the heart is broken into pieces today,” Gadot wrote in a post on her Instagram Story, before calling for the release of the remaining 101 hostages still in Gaza. In a separate Instagram Story, she posted a collage of pictures of the six killed hostages and added a broken heart emoji.
Paltrow, whose father was Jewish, wrote on her Instagram Story: “To the families of each hostage whose life was stolen, I have thought of you every day for 11 months, but today I sent you my heart. #endtheviolence.”
The IDF recovered overnight on Saturday the bodies of the six hostages from an underground tunnel in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. The hostages were identified as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Almog Sarusi, 25, Alexander Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Master Sgt. Ori Danino, 25. They were found with gunshot wounds to the head and other parts of their bodies, and autopsies revealed that they were murdered in the past 48 hours. They were each kidnapped alive by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists during the latter’s deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Other Hollywood figures who expressed sorrow and outrage following the news about the six hostages who were found murdered in Gaza included Jewish actors Ben Stiller and Debra Messing.
Stiller wrote in a post on X: “Sending love and support to the families of the hostages who lives were lives were taken [sic] so brutally. So many people are sharing this pain. My family’s heart goes out to you.”
Messing posted a video on social media in which she cried while talking about the deaths of the hostages. “The collective grief, the agony that comes with the news that Hersh and those five beautiful souls were executed ISIS style in the last two days is unbearable,” she said.
“There is no moral equivalency,” she added. “These are monsters, and every American should be grieving today, because Hersh did not have to die. The six of them did not have to die. And to all of you people who posted, ‘All Eyes on Rafah,’ pressuring not to go into Rafah, which is where they were, is so painful. So, to all of you, ‘All Eyes on Rafah,’ you did this.”
Messing was referring to a social media campaign opposing Israel’s military operations targeting Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where the terrorist group still had multiple battalions. The six hostages were found in a tunnel in Rafah.
American music producer Scooter Braun said in an Instagram post that in honor of the “strength of the family members for the last 330 days” he would wear the number 331 on his clothing. “All 6 of these innocent civilians will be honored and remembered. All 6 of these souls were an entire world,” he wrote. “May their memory be a blessing…FOREVER!”
Braun also spoke on Sunday at a vigil in Los Angeles in honor of the killed hostages. During his speech, he condemned what he called hypocrisy in the music industry for staying silent about the victims of the Nova music festival and added regarding the murdered hostages: “For all six of them, I’m so sorry that we were not loud enough.”
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Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
Trump, for his part, described events in the Middle East as “very alarming,” according to Ushakov. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear program, Ushakov said.
On Ukraine, Putin told the US leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA.
Trump reiterated his interest in a speedy resolution to the conflict, the Kremlin aide said.
Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.
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Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says
FILE PHOTO: Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi attends a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2023. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
The latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat will not take place, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Saturday. Oman has been mediating the talks.
Albusaidi’s statement came a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.
A senior official of US President Donald Trump’s administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Sunday’s talks had been cancelled.
Washington, however, remained committed to the negotiations and hoped “the Iranians will come to the table soon,” the official said.
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Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending
USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Iran said the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, but said it is yet to decide on whether to attend planned talks on Sunday.
“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” state media on Saturday quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
“It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.
He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.
Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.
Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.
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