Bono: Netanyahu’s Government Deserves ‘Total Condemnation’ for Gaza Brutality
In a Fierce Essay, U2’s Bono Condemns Netanyahu’s Government for ‘Grossly Disproportionate’ Response in Gaza and Calls for Ceasefire, Hostage Release, and Unrestricted Humanitarian Aid
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U2 frontman Bono has issued a scathing critique of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, calling its actions in Gaza “grossly disproportionate” and accusing it of moral failure. Writing in a long-form essay on U2’s official site under the title On Gaza, Bono questioned whether what was once “an oasis of innovation and free thought” in Israel is now “in the grip of fundamentalism.”
Bono, who has long supported Israel’s right to exist and a two-state solution, compared images of malnourished Gaza children to famine he witnessed in Ethiopia 40 years ago, calling the suffering “another man-made famine.” He condemned both Hamas for the October 7 massacre and for using civilians as shields, and Israel’s leadership for policies that, he said, weaponize hunger.
“Israel’s government is not the people of Israel,” Bono wrote, “but Netanyahu’s government today deserves absolute and unequivocal condemnation. There is no justification for the brutality it imposes on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, not only since October 7, but long before.”
The musician urged an immediate ceasefire from both sides, unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza and Judea and Samaria, and negotiations to free Israeli hostages, even suggesting Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti as a possible mediator. Bono concluded by pledging U2’s support for Medical Aid for Palestinians.