Current:Home > InvestFastexy:'Sex and the City' star Cynthia Nixon goes on hunger strike to call for cease-fire in Gaza -Capitatum
Fastexy:'Sex and the City' star Cynthia Nixon goes on hunger strike to call for cease-fire in Gaza
Johnathan Walker View
Date:2025-04-07 07:00:37
"Sex and Fastexythe City" star Cynthia Nixon is on a hunger strike to demand a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview Monday, the "And Just Like That…" actress called on President Joe Biden to "make a cease-fire happen."
"The deaths that we have seen are largely due to the bombs, but so many Palestinians now are on the verge of starvation. Only 7% of the nutrition they need is being let in on a daily basis," Nixon said. "So we are here hunger-striking just to sort of mirror to Biden the kind of deprivation that is happening in Gaza, and how he has it within his power to make a cease-fire happen and to allow humanitarian aid in."
Nixon will join progressive lawmakers in the strike for two days, while some Democratic state congressional representatives will strike for up to five days, according to Time.
The strike comes amid a pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, in which Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners have been exchanged.
"As the mother of Jewish children whose grandparents are Holocaust survivors, I have been asked by my son to use any voice I have to affirm, as loudly as possible, that 'never again' means never again for everyone," Nixon said Monday in a speech outside the White House. "In seven weeks, Israel has killed more civilians on a tiny strip of land than was killed in 20 years of war in the entire country of Afghanistan."
Melissa Barreraaddresses 'Scream 7' firing over posts on Israel-Hamas war: 'Silence is not an option'
The actress is also a longtime activist and former gubernatorial candidate, having run for governor of New York against incumbent Andrew Cuomo in 2018.
"I am sick and tired of people explaining this away by saying that civilian casualties are a routine toll of war," Nixon continued. "There is nothing routine about these figures. There is nothing routine about these deaths. I would like to make a personal plea to a president who has himself experienced such devastating personal loss to connect with that empathy for which he is so well known, and to look at the children of Gaza, and imagine that they were his children."
Dozens of entertainers have called for a cease-fire and decried civilian deaths amid the Israel-Hamas war. Rachel McAdams, Oscar Isaac, Bradley Cooper, David Oyelowo and Ben Affleck, among many others, signed a letter requesting an end to the "devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors" in Israel and Gaza.
Hollywood reacts to Israel-Hamas war:Celebrities call for ceasefire, decry civilian deaths
Israel-Hamas war truce nears end
Israel has been pounding Gaza since militants slipped across the border into Israel on Oct. 7 on a mission of destruction, killing 1,200 people before racing back into Gaza with an estimated 240 hostages. Israel's response has been to level swaths of Gaza in a military campaign that Palestinian authorities say has killed more than 13,000 people.
A temporary cease-fire began Friday and initially was to last four days, allowing the release of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Israeli-held Palestinian prisoners. Talks resulted in a two-day extension through Wednesday that allowed for more releases.
Negotiators from at least five countries were working feverishly toward an extension of the cease-fire while Hamas announced Wednesday that three Israeli hostages have died, including a 10-month-old child.
Israeli-Hamas war live updates:Hamas says 3 hostages including 10-month-old child have died; truce nears end
The last scheduled release of hostages held by the militants, this one including 10 Israeli citizens and two Russians, was underway Wednesday, Israel's military said. Once completed, Israel is expected to free 30 Palestinian women and minors from prison.
Hamas leaders are willing to extend the truce for four days and release more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners, the Times of Israel reported, citing a source close to the militant group. Israeli officials also have expressed interest in extending the cease-fire in concert with the release of more hostages.
But a senior Israeli official who spoke to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity said that, despite reports to the contrary, he was "not aware of any possibility" to turn the pause into a longer-term cease-fire involving all the remaining hostages, including men and soldiers, being released in exchange for all Palestinians in Israeli jails.
Contributing: John Bacon and Jorge L. Ortiz
Susan Sarandondropped by talent agency following pro-Palestinian rally appearance
veryGood! (9329)
Related
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Illinois lawmakers unable to respond to governor’s prison plan because they lack quorum
- Bridgerton Star Luke Newton Confirms Romance With Dancer Antonia Roumelioti
- Euro 2024 predictions: Picks for final winner and Golden Boot award
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Top US bishop worries Catholic border services for migrants might be imperiled by government action
- Roger Daltrey unveils explosive Who songs, covers with cheer and humor on solo tour
- The Sphere in Las Vegas really is a 'quantum leap' for live music: Inside the first shows
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Supreme Court preserves access to abortion medication mifepristone | The Excerpt
Ranking
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Actor Christian Oliver's Ex-Wife Shares Touching Footage Months After Family’s Death in Plane Crash
- Tom Brady’s Kids Jack, Benjamin and Vivian Look All Grown Up in Family Photos
- Illinois lawmakers unable to respond to governor’s prison plan because they lack quorum
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Inmate who escaped from Houston courthouse after holding staffer at knifepoint caught following hours-long manhunt
- Olympic video games? What to know about Olympic Esports Games coming soon
- US diplomat warns of great consequences for migrants at border who don’t choose legal pathways
Recommendation
Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
Hawaii congressional leaders deny supporting shutdown of Red Hill oversight panel
Biden, Meloni meet on sidelines of G7 summit but one notable matter wasn’t on the table: abortion
Rhode Island lawmakers approve $13.9 billion budget plan, slew of other bills
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Stock market today: Asian shares mixed after AI hopes nudge Wall St to records. BOJ stands pat
Connecticut-sized dead zone expected to emerge in Gulf of Mexico, potentially killing marine life, NOAA warns
Here’s what to know about a stalled $237M donation to Florida A&M