British actors show support for Gaza ceasefire at Baftas

British stars at the 2024 BAFTA in London showed support for Gaza by wearing red pins and calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The New Arab Staff
13 May, 2024





Several British stars showed their support for Gaza during their appearance at the 2024 British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs) at London's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday.

Luke Rollason and Bilal Hasna, stars of the British superhero comedy TV series 'Extraordinary', posed for the cameras while wearing the red pins and called for immediate action to stop the war on Gaza.

"These pins represent Artists4Ceasefire, an organisation of artists campaigning for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives held in Israeli prisons and for the media and sufficient aid to come into Gaza," Hasna told reporters.

The actor emphasised the dire situation in Rafah and condemned the lack of decisive response despite escalating atrocities against Palestinians.

"Despite the US and the UK saying time and time again that a full ground invasion of Rafah is a red line, we've seen total inaction from [Joe] Biden and [Rishi] Sunak, so we thought the least we can do is wear our pins and show solidarity with the Palestinian people right now," Hasna said.

"We’ve seen 150,000 Palestinians being expelled... we’re still seeing total inaction," he added. "There are really no words for the horror the Palestinian people have undergone."


Meanwhile, 'The Crown' star Khalid Abdalla held up a clear bag containing 14,000 red sequins to represent every 'child that has been killed in Gaza' amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

On his other hand, the star had written 'Stop arming Israel' in black marker pen as he posed for photos holding up the sequins.

Taking to social media platform X, Khalid posted: "Every one of these 14,000 sequins is a child that has been killed in Gaza. Multiply that by 2.46 and you get the current death toll, over 34,500."

Khalid has previously signed a letter demanding a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza with the Artists for Palestine UK, alongside the likes of Tilda Swinton, Miriam Margolyes and Steve Coogan.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 35,000 people - 72 percent of whom were women and children.

UNICEF confirmed that more than 14,000 children have been killed and 12,000 wounded in Gaza since Israel's war began on October 7.