As Israeli violence and deadly air raids continue unabated in the occupied Palestinian territories, a plethora of celebrities, leading public figures, and football stars across the world have joined the protests in a bid to express their concerns against the onslaught.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and his teammate Amad Diallo raised a Palestinian flag on the Old Trafford pitch in the aftermath of Tuesday's 1-1 draw against Fulham, the English football team’s final home game of the Premier League season.
French World Cup winner Pogba and Ivorian winger Diallo, who are both Muslims, displayed the flag in support of the Palestinian people against Israeli aggression as they applauded thousands of sports fans that were welcomed back to stadiums for the first time this season to watch the game as coronavirus restrictions are eased in England.
“Let’s keep our world safe and free from violence. Pray for Palestine,” the 28-year-old midfielder, Paul Pogba said in an Instagram post accompanied by a photo showing him carrying the Palestinian flag.
When asked about Pogba and Diallo’s public display, Manchester United Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended the duo's move, saying: "If my players think about other things than football, that’s a positive thing and I think we’ve seen that with some of the players before that they do care about."
In a controversial and bizarre post, an Israeli footballer, Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Eran Zahavi, shared an doctored version of Pogba, swapping the original flag in the photo with an Israel one.
At least 227 Palestinians have been killed, including 64 children and 38 women, and over 1,600 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since May 10, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Health centers, media offices and residential neighborhoods have been targeted.
More than 75,000 Palestinians have been displaced due to the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, the UN said on Thursday.
