Fifty-five celebrities, including Cate Blanchett, Jessica Chastain, Joaquin Phoenix, Jon Stewart, and Michael Stipe, have signed an open letter to President Joe Biden asking him to “call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost.” Specifically, they would like to see an end to the bombing in Gaza and the release of hostages. The full letter is viewable on Artists4Ceasefire.org.
“We believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in ending the suffering and we are adding our voices to those from the U.S. Congress, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and so many others,” the letter reads. “Saving lives is a moral imperative. To echo UNICEF, ‘Compassion — and international law — must prevail.’”
Other celebrities who signed the letter include Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, Channing Tatum, Rooney Mara, Rosario Dawson, Shailene Woodley, and Susan Sarandon.
The letter comes a day after Biden asked Congress for $105 billion to spend on military aid for Israel and Ukraine. The New York Times reports that $14 billion of that money would go to Israel in its efforts to defend itself in the war that broke out when Hamas invaded the country on Oct. 7, killing more than a thousand people and taking approximately 200 hostages. Some of the money, $9 billion, would go to humanitarian efforts in Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, negotiations between Egypt, Israel, the U.S. and the United Nations have stalled the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to the Times. Officials have struggled to agree on some issues, including who would inspect the deliveries, which would enter the area through Egypt.
“Beyond our pain and mourning for all of the people there and their loved ones around the world we are motivated by an unbending will to stand for our common humanity,” the celebrities wrote in their letter. “We stand for freedom, justice, dignity and peace for all people — and a deep desire to stop more bloodshed.”