‘Are we going to just watch genocide on telly?’ Powerful Instagram post on Israel-Palestine goes viral

A powerful post about the Israel-Palestine conflict warning the world is on the brink of ‘watching genocide on telly’ has gone viral.

The statement by a content creator, shared widely on Instagram and X, asks how many people have to die before “someone urges restraint”. It comes as the Israeli government gave Palestinians living in Gaza 24 hours to leave before an expected ground assault in the enclave.

Maria Guardiola, the daughter of Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola is among those re-posting the poignant message by ‘Eva’, who usually posts about fashion on her ‘whateveawears’ profile.

Eva says she understands the difficulty of speaking out and saying the ‘wrong thing’ but stresses the need to show Palestinian lives as equals - without inciting hatred against Jewish communities.

“So is this really what we’re going to do now?” the post reads. “Just sit back and watch a genocide happen on the telly? Then decades from now, when it’s in the history books, all look round at each other and ask, ‘how did that happen?’

“For the first time, I truly understand how mass atrocities have been able to occur throughout history - again, and again, and again,” she continued. “We never learn.”

“What does the death count need to be before someone finally speaks against this madness and urges restraint, not more arms? 10,000? 100,000? A million? More? When have enough Palestinians died?”

“We can express our complete condemnation for what the Israeli government are doing and also assert our unwavering belief in the equal value of Palestinian lives, without inciting hatred against Jewish communities.”

Israel’s assault comes in response to a deadly terror attack by Hamas last weekend that left more than 1,200 people dead including children. Since then, air strikes by the Israel Defense Force have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, authorities in Gaza say.

Eva, who is based in London, also shared a post by Israeli human rights groups calling for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

“Hamas’ horrific crimes against innocent civilians - including children, women and the elderly - have shaken us all, the statement shared by The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem.

“Most of our teams include Israelis and Palestinians; therefore, some of us have relatives and colleagues in Gaza currently living under the ongoing assault of the Israeli military,” it states.

“Even now - especially now - we must maintain our moral and humane position and refuse to give in to despair or the urge for vengeance.”

Majid Freeman, an activist for Free Palestine, is among those resharing Eva’s post on X, in a tweet that has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.