Supermodels Gigi, Bella Hadid donate $1mn to aid groups supporting Palestinians in Gaza

Supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid donated $1 million to aid groups supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to reports.

According to Business Insider, a representative for Bella said the money was set to be distributed among four organisations: Heal Palestine, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, World Central Kitchen, and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

The sisters, who are of Palestinian descent, have previously come under fire for voicing their support for Gaza and Palestinians.

In October, Gigi posted a statement on Instagram saying: “My thoughts are with all those affected by this unjustifiable tragedy and every day that innocent lives are taken by this conflict - too many of which are children.”

“I have deep empathy and heartbreak for the Palestinian struggle and life under occupation, it’s a responsibility I hold daily.

“I also feel a responsibility to my Jewish friends to make it clear as I have before: While I have hopes and dreams for Palestinians, none of them include the harm of a Jewish person.”

‘My heart is bleeding with pain’: model Bella Hadid shares heartfelt note as Israel bombards Gaza

Last month, Bella stepped out during the Cannes Film Festival in a dress made out of the traditional Palestinian Keffiyehs in Cannes in a nod to her heritage and a move widely appreciated by followers.

Bella, who recently launched her own line of fragrances, has also previously come under fire for speaking out against the Israeli aggression in Gaza.

In a detailed post on Instagram, she wrote about being the child of a Nakba survivor, as well as “brutal settler invasions” and a series of other issues.

According to the UN, Nakba means “catastrophe” in Arabic and is used to refer to “the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.”

Bella and Gigi’s father as a nine-day old baby along with his family were expelled from Palestine in 1948.

“Forgive me for my silence,” she wrote in October, last year as Israel began bombarding Gaza.

“I have yet to find the ideal words for this deeply intricate and horrific past two weeks, weeks that have turned the world’s attention back towards a situation that has been taking innocent lives and affecting families for decades.”

“My heart is bleeding with pain from the trauma I am seeing unfold, as well as the generational trauma of my Palestinian blood.”

‘All eyes on Rafah’ image shared 46mn times online

Mohamed Hadid – their father – has also used Instagram to make his position on the conflict clear.

In a post on Saturday, he called President Joe Biden “the butcher of Gaza” and claimed he would “never vote” for him again.

The Israeli aggression in Gaza has killed at least 36,439 people, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Forced displacement has pushed over a million people away from the Gazan city of Rafah, the UNRWA said on Monday.