‘Message to Jill Biden’: Cynthia Nixon, Mark Ruffalo and others call for permanent ceasefire in Gaza on Mother's Day

While the world was busy celebrating Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12, several Hollywood stars sent out a message to Jill Biden, calling for a permanent ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The video featured The Gilded Age co-stars Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski, Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, comedian and Babes actress Ilana Glazer, American playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler), comedian and TV producer Rosie O'Donnell and several other women from the famed entertainment industry. The Sex and the City star posted the star-studded appeal to the First Lady of the United States on X/Twitter on Mother's Day. Also, tagging the Avengers star Mark Ruffalo, who's been avidly speaking for the Gaza cause, the aforementioned celebrities shared the video message on Instagram.

This particular group of celebrities speaking in solidarity with the Palestine cause represents the “Artists4Ceasefire," described as a “collective of artists and advocates who have come together in response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Israel and Palestine” on the official website.

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Artists4Ceasefire's message to Jill Biden

Addressing Dr Jill Biden, Nixon, Lennox, and the other involved acclaimed public figures wrote on Instagram: "The UN estimates that two mothers are killed every hour in Gaza. On this Mother’s Day, we call on you as mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and as humans to use your voice and your power…

To everyone else, join us in demanding our government stop facilitating these atrocities. Call (202) 224-3121 and tell your Rep and Senators to support an immediate and permanent ceasefire, an end to the invasion of Rafah, the release of all hostages and the mass delivery of aid."

Their message references a January 2024 UN Women report, which iterated that women and children account for roughly 70% of people being killed in Gaza, “with two mothers killed every hour.” Presumably, this data only records the “fully documented cases."

Furthermore, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) also released a report on May 3, stating that “the war in Gaza continues to be a war on women.” It also reported that, on average, 37 children lose their mothers every day in the Gaza Strip.

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The video message, addressed to Jill Biden, proceeds: "Dr Jill Biden, we are calling on you. We are mothers and daughters and grandmothers, sisters and advocates for peace and justice, and simply human beings. Dr Biden, we are calling on you today because we know you are all of those things as well and because of the immense power you hold as First Lady of the United States, to implore you, please, Dr Biden, the world is watching, calling on you to use your impact, your moral clarity, your voice.

Stop the suffering, the intentional starvation, the forced displacement, the destruction, the killing of Palestinian children, the decimation of an entire population of civilians. We're calling on you to stop the unfolding genocide of Palestine. We know you care. We know that the images of starving children must devastate you. We're calling on you to use your power to call for a permanent ceasefire and for the release of all hostages. And for the immediate delivery of aid, and guaranteed safety of humanitarian workers, doctors and journalists and the safety of all civilians… Because history is watching… and humanity, Dr Biden, must prevail."

Though not in the video montage, the Hulk star simultaneously shared another post on social media, reiterating the same sentiments.

Sharing a photo affiliated with the Artists4Ceasefire hashtag, Mark Ruffalo wrote on Instagram: "The Israeli military’s attack on Rafah puts 1.3 million Palestinians taking refuge — including 600,000 children— in catastrophic danger.

We need a permanent ceasefire NOW— not a pause or temporary ceasefire. The killing must stop!

There is nothing that justifies the killing of children — in Gaza, or anywhere.

President Biden and our elected leaders must act NOW to save lives and move us towards a future rooted in freedom, justice, dignity, and peace for all people."

The most recent May 13 report by Reuters stated the United Nations' take on the matter, noting that the death toll in the Gaza Strip from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war is still over 35,000.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday: “There's about another 10,000 plus bodies who still have to be fully identified, and so then the details of those - which of those are children, which of those are women - that will be re-established once the full identification process is complete.”

This comment sought to respond to Israel's last week's question about why there was a sudden change in the death toll of women and children. In response to these claims, Haq said those numbers only accounted for identified bodies - 7,797 children, 4,959 women, 1,924 elderly, and 10,006 men. " “The Ministry of Health says that the documentation process of fully identifying details of the casualties is ongoing,” he added.

Oren Marmorstein, spokesperson for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, continued to accuse the Palestinian militant group Hamas of manipulating the figure, claiming that “they do not reflect the reality on the ground.”