Madonna says she’s ‘heartbroken and frightened’ by Israel’s conflict with Palestine and calls for ‘peace’ in emotional on-stage speech: ‘We can’t lose our humanity’

In an emotional speech on stage, Madonna revealed that she is “heartbroken and scared” by the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Speaking during her Celebration Tour in London, the hitmaker, 65, said it would be ‘irresponsible’ to remain silent about the conflict and fought back tears as she called for ‘peace’.

In the conflict, which began on October 7, so far 3,785 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

In her speech, Madonna urged fans to ‘light enough candles and use our awareness to change the world’, recalling the alleged stabbing of six-year-old Wade Al-Fayoum by his landlord Joseph Chuba in Chicago.

Madonna began her speech: “I have to talk about children and all the things that are going on in the world right now, it would be irresponsible of me not to say something.”

“What’s going on between Israel and Palestine right now is obviously heartbreaking and nobody wants to see what’s going on,” she added.

“I turn on social media and I want to throw up.” I see children being thrown off motorcycles, kidnapped, babies beheaded, children killed in peace, what the hell is going on in the world?

“How human beings can be so cruel to each other, and it’s getting worse, and that scares me.”

“I want to paraphrase James Baldwin… which is that the children of the world belong to all of us, I don’t care where they are, what their hair style is, what their skin color is, what their religion is, the children belong to us and we are responsible for them, a six-year-old boy is stabbed in Chicago yesterday, it was a hate crime because he is a Muslim.

Madonna then told the crowd: “We have to remember that we are human beings here, we cannot lose our humanity.” Our hearts may be broken, but our spirits cannot.’

Earning a standing ovation, she continued: “No one can break our spirit. And you could look at what’s going on in the world and say ‘what can I do, I’m just one person, I’m helpless’, no you’re not.

“Each of you has the power to turn on the light in the world, we are all candles that can bring light to the world.” Are you with me London?

“And if we light enough lights, if we light enough candles, the collective consciousness of generosity and unity will change, no politicians, no laws, no sanctions, no giving or taking of land.”

“We can change the fucking world with our consciousness, are you with me London?”

“And thank you for turning on the lights, it means everything to me, it means you’re listening.” This is not for me this is for all of you.’

Posting her speech on Instagram, Madonna captioned her post: “Children are always ours, every one of them, all over the world;” …………… #jamesbaldwin

“Our hearts may be broken, but they cannot break our spirit.” Let’s bring more light to the world #madonnacelebrationtour.’

Since the conflict began 12 days ago, many stars have openly expressed their devastation and heartbreak, with some facing criticism for their views.

Gigi Hadid published a handful of statements in which the suffering of the Israelis was equated with the suffering of the Palestinians.

The Israeli government then condemned her in a post on Instagram Stories that read: “There is nothing brave about Hamas’ massacre of Israelis. Condemning Hamas for what it is (ISIS) is not anti-Palestinian and supporting the Israelis in their fight against barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do.’

The State of Israel account then directed the comments specifically at Hadid, tagging her account and writing: ‘Did you sleep last week?’

“Or do you simply turn a blind eye to Jewish babies being slaughtered in their own homes?” Your silence was very clear about where you were. We see you.’

On Tuesday, a massive explosion ripped through a hospital in Gaza, killing nearly 500 people, and Palestinian leaders initially said Israel was to blame, while the Israel Defense Forces said a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad from Gaza had fired and exploded.

It comes after Israel opened a border crossing in southern Gaza on Wednesday, allowing some aid trucks to enter – the first crack in the punishing 11-day siege.

Even after Israel told Palestinians in the north to evacuate to what it said were ‘safe zones’ in the south, attacks continued overnight across the densely populated territory.

After decades of conflict between the two territories, tensions flared again earlier this month after Hamas, the Islamist militant group that seized control of Gaza in 2006, fired thousands of rockets at Israel.

The country responded by saying the country was “at war” and fired at targets in Gaza in response.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Israel to “express solidarity” with that country and called for any escalation of violence in the wider region to be avoided.

Sunak landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday ahead of talks with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.

“Above all, I am here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people.” You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you,” Sunak told reporters on the ground.

As part of the trip, he will call on Middle East leaders to “avoid further dangerous escalation”, saying “too many lives have been lost” already in the conflict.

The visit came after the US president flew to Israel on Wednesday in a diplomatic bid to prevent the fighting from escalating into a bigger crisis.

Joe Biden urged Israel not to be “consumed” by anger after Hamas’ deadly attack on October 7 and to avoid making the same “mistakes” the US made after September 11, 2001, when Islamist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people.

The president’s trip appeared to mark progress, as Netanyahu’s office said it had approved Biden’s request to allow Egypt to deliver limited amounts of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.