"I want to breathe again:" Gal Gadot’s tearful speech slammed as tone-deaf amid Gaza genocide

'Israeli' actress Gal Gadot turned the opening ceremony of the 42nd Jerusalem Film Festival into a platform to reiterate her political stance, focusing exclusively on 'Israeli' captives while ignoring the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza.

Breaking down in tears, Gadot addressed a crowd of thousands at the Sultan’s Pool, saying, “I pray this war will end and that there will be peace and security for everyone. I want to breathe again — and that will only happen when the hostages come home.”

Gadot offered no acknowledgment of Palestinian suffering or the humanitarian crisis unfolding just miles away.

The statement, particularly her comment “I want to breathe again,” was widely perceived as tone-deaf, with commentators pointing out that thousands of Palestinians have been killed or are suffocating under rubble and siege in Gaza, yet Gadot framed the war’s tragedy around her own emotions.

Gadot praised 'Israel' effusively, describing it as “a very special place — only 10 million people living in one spot on our globe… like a friendly city in America with the greatest minds, one of the strongest armies in the world, a startup nation, the best doctors, the most original and wonderful creativity that comes from the heart.” Her praise for 'Israel’s' military strength drew criticism online, with some pointing to the same army’s role in Gaza’s destruction.