U2 breaks its silence and condemns the "brutality" of the Netanyahu government in Gaza

U2 broke its silence on the Gaza massacre on Sunday with a lengthy statement, including individual declarations from its four members, condemning the military actions of Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli government. The Irish band, which had so far steered clear of the conflict and drawn criticism for doing so, denounced the blockade of humanitarian aid , warned against a possible "military takeover" of Gaza City , and accused the Israeli government of carrying out "categorically immoral" and "brutal" actions against the Palestinian population. "We are not experts on the politics of the region, but we want our audience to know our position," the statement begins.

The most eloquent and harshest is the frontman, Bono. In the statement, he acknowledges having “stayed away from Middle East politics” and having “circled around the issue” due to his “uncertainty in the face of obvious complexity.” “The Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu deserves our categorical and unequivocal condemnation today. There is no justification for the brutality he and his far-right government have inflicted on the Palestinian people... in Gaza...,” the vocalist writes. He also condemns the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which he describes as “diabolical,” but draws a distinction between the Islamist group and the Palestinian people, “a people who for decades have suffered marginalization, oppression, occupation, and systematic theft of their land.”

He uses the text to fiercely criticize far-right thinking, which, he explains, could end in "world war and millenarianism." "The government of Israel is not the nation of Israel," Bono continues, but warns that the current political drift could isolate and morally degrade the country: "Is what was once an oasis of innovation and free thought now subject to a fundamentalism as blunt as a machete? Are Israelis really willing to let Benjamin Netanyahu do to Israel what its enemies failed to achieve in the past 77 years?"

The singer also reaffirms his support for Israel's right to a two-state solution, while also expressing solidarity with the hostages still being held by Hamas . The band also announces a donation to the NGO Medical Aid for Palestinians and calls for the entry of hundreds of trucks of aid daily to address the most urgent needs and thus weaken the black market .

The lyrics of the other three members, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr., echo the vocalist's thinking. The Edge directly questions Netanyahu with three questions about the devastation in Gaza, the risk of ethnic cleansing, and the lack of a political plan beyond the occupation, stressing that peace cannot be imposed by force. Clayton criticizes the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas by an army capable of precision strikes and warns that colonizing the Strip would forever close off any avenue to peace. Mullen Jr. denounces the famine and the destruction of hospitals as "inhumane and criminal," laments the lack of international outrage, and reaffirms that both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to their own state.

U2's statement comes amid a near-total blockade of food, medicine, and fuel that has left the Strip in a state of critical famine, which experts from the United Nations and other international organizations have described as intentionally induced. At least 127 people have died of starvation, and more than 100,000 children, including 40,000 infants, are "at risk of death," according to information from the Gaza government. Furthermore, Netanyahu's recent announcement of the military occupation of Gaza City, which threatens to expel up to one million civilians and which the humanitarian sector predicts will have catastrophic consequences , including a spike in civilian deaths, has intensified international criticism.

The Irish band's intervention resonates not only because of the cultural weight of its members, but because until now they had maintained a more than discreet stance that had drawn criticism, especially directed at their leader, Bono. Throughout their history, U2 has linked their music to causes such as the fight against apartheid , the cancellation of external debt for poor countries, and AIDS awareness, and has used their visibility to spur political and social debates. Their entry into the discussion on Gaza adds an influential voice to a global chorus of criticism that includes religious leaders, artists, academics, and more than 100,000 Israeli protesters who, on August 9 , called in Tel Aviv for an end to the war.