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Gazini Ganados shares heartbreaking conversations with family based in Gaza
Gazini Ganados took to Instagram to share heartbreaking conversations she's had with family members who are still in war-torn Gaza.
First saying she was "sick to my stomach," the Miss Universe Philippines 2019 admitted it's been "a heartbreaking week for so many of us."
"I'm scared, disturbed, deeply saddened," she added.
According to Gazini, she couldn't remain silent "about this genocide" because her "family's life depended on it."
She expressed her sorrow "for the Israelis who have lost their lives and been injured in the dreadful terrorist attacks," and outright said "Hamas killing civilians was HORRIBLE," but Gazini said Israel's counterattack "killing 10× more civilians is beyond insane."
"How can so many be so silent? What are you scared of? Scared to defend basic human rights as innocent people are murdered," Gazini she asked on Instagram Thursday.
"It’s been a long dark tunnel since Oct 7 and a long way to go to emerge from this horrendous situation," she said.
In the carousel of photos she shared, Gazini included a couple of screengrabs from conversations with her brother and step-mother who are both in Gaza.
"I don't know if we will live or die in the end. I want to tell you that I love you," said one of them.
Gazini is a half-Palestinian, half-Filipina beauty queen, who only reconnected with her Palestinian father in 2020.
In 2021, she also spoke about the worsening conflict between Israel and Palestine, sharing clips from her dad, who was showing her the situation in Gaza.
"I can only imagine the trauma my brothers and sisters are going through and hope for them to still remain kind and hopeful in this cruel situation. Praying for everyone’s safety," she said back then.
Earlier on Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the fourth Filipino fatality in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Manila has already enforced security Alert Level 4 for Gaza, which calls for mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos in conflict areas.
Israel has been carrying out a withering bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the killing of 1,400 people who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death in shock cross-border attacks launched by Hamas on October 7.
More than 3,470 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli air strikes, according to health officials.
— LA, GMA Integrated News
