Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for referring to the Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza as “collateral damage.”
The Marvel actor expressed his grief and outrage on Twitter emphasizing that these individuals are human beings, not mere structures or objects.
Mark Ruffalo tweeted,
No. Sorry. They are not ‘collateral damage’; they are human beings who happen to have been born there and live there, and most of those human beings are stuck there. Have some compassion; they are Palestinians, not buildings or roads or things. They are human beings, and so are the hostages whose lives you may also be destroying.
No. Sorry. They are not “collateral damage” they are human beings who happen to have been born there and live there and most of those human beings are stuck there. Have some compassion, they are Palestinians not buildings or roads or things, they are human beings and so are the…
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) November 13, 2023
Ruffalo’s comments came in response to Netanyahu’s statement on Sunday, following accusations of war crimes in Gaza by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk who insisted that the only solution to the ongoing violence is to end the Israeli occupation and grant Palestinians the right to self-determination.
“The extensive Israeli bombardment of Gaza, including the use of high-impact explosive weapons in densely populated areas, razing tens of thousands of buildings to the ground, is clearly having a devastating humanitarian and human rights impact,” Türk asserted.
He further called for an immediate end to such methods and means of warfare, urging a thorough investigation into the attacks. Türk raised serious concerns about the disproportionate nature of the assaults, suggesting a breach of international humanitarian law.
Netanyahu dismissed Türk’s accusations as “hogwash” and insisted that Israeli forces are not intentionally targeting civilians, despite the escalating Palestinian death toll. The prime minister reiterated his claim that Hamas is responsible for civilian casualties in Gaza, despite Israel being the party launching attacks from air, sea, and land.
“We’re deliberately doing everything in our power to target the terrorists,” Netanyahu told NBC’s Meet the Press. “And the civilians, as happens in every legitimate war, are sometimes what are called ‘collateral damage.’ That’s a longer way of saying unintended casualties.”
