Ronaldo, Messi come under fire for not raising voice for Palestinians

People everywhere are calling on well-known figures to address the humanitarian crisis in light of the ongoing war in Gaza and the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces.

The two most recent football players to face criticism from their supporters for remaining silent over Israel's battle against Hamas are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The duo has amassed a vast following of over one billion users on Instagram alone. Imagine the scale of that following when we include their X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook followings.

People urge them to speak up for the Palestinians because they are battling for their lives on a daily basis and because Israeli attacks on hospitals have resulted in the deaths of some newborns.

In photos on Instagram, Ronaldo congratulated his daughter on her birthday, although some fans wished him well, others told him to post on the ongoing war.

"All of you are silent about the truth. Just imagine with me, if something happened to your daughter, you would burn the world for her. What about the children who did from bombing in Gaza?" asked a fan.

Other fans posted comments like "Free Palestine" and "Stop Israeli bombing, etc, asking Ronaldo to voice his concerns.

On Messi's latest Instagram post, people wrote the same kind of comments.

One user wrote: "You do not have to Palestinian or Muslim to defend Palestine. You must be a human being. That is enough."

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Hamas group on Oct. 7.

The offensive has killed more than 11,100 Palestinians and left a massive trail of destruction across the blockaded territory, according to Palestinian authorities in the enclave. Israel has put its death toll at nearly 1,200, after revising it downwards.