Pop star Justin Bieber is facing backlash for a post on social media in support of Israel that featured a photo depicting the destruction in Gaza City.
Bieber shared an Instagram Story on Wednesday featuring the message "Sending my thoughts to Israel" over an image of damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip, according to the Independent.
In response to the attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on Israeli territories on Saturday, residential structures, markets, and mosques in Gaza have faced destruction.
Soon after sharing his original post, Bieber removed it and subsequently reposted the message with the same wording, this time without any accompanying background.
"To vilianize [sic] all Palestinians or all Israeli people to me seems wrong," Bieber wrote in an earlier post on his Instagram Story, according to the Independent. "I’m not interested in choosing sides, but I am interested in standing with the families who have been brutally taken from us."
The Independent reported that Oscar-winning actor Jamie Lee Curtis made a similar mistake, posting an image on Instagram with the caption "Terror from the skies" and an Israeli flag on Oct. 9. She removed it after her followers pointed out it was a picture of children from Gaza.
After Hamas attacked its civilians, Israel imposed a "complete siege," severing water, food, fuel, and electricity to Gaza, home to about 2.3 million people.
Palestinian authorities have alleged that Israel deliberately struck the entire area surrounding the Al-Sousi mosque, leading to its destruction in an airstrike on Monday.
This took place after Hamas launched its largest-ever attack on Israel, involving the firing of thousands of rockets and storming of the Gaza border by militants.
On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported over 2,200 lives had been lost on both sides.
The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have died in Israel since Saturday's incursion.
In Gaza, the health ministry said more than 1,050 have been killed and over 5,100 injured. The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency says 250,000 people have been displaced in Gaza.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.