Actor Michael Douglas on Sunday paid a solidarity visit to an Israeli kibbutz that was hit hard in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked Israel’s war against the Islamic militant group.
Douglas met with members of Kibbutz Be’eri and visited burnt-out homes destroyed in the Oct. 7 attack. Be’eri was among the hardest hit communities, with roughly 100 people killed and 30 others taken hostage.
Douglas said he met families of hostages and visited the scene of a music party where over 300 people were killed.
He also met with Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, who presented the actor with an Israeli dog tag necklace and small pin of a yellow ribbon — symbols of solidarity with the dozens of hostages who remain in Hamas captivity.
“It’s a very difficult time. You sense the deep shock of this whole experience,” Douglas said, expressing hope that the hostages would be released soon.
Douglas also lashed out at pro-Palestinian protesters on American campuses — claiming that many have been subject to “brainwashing.”
“When you try to talk to many of them, there is no education. There’s no knowledge,” he said.
Douglas is the latest in a line of American celebrities and politicians who have visited Israel and toured the southern area near the Gaza border since Oct. 7.
President Joe Biden is looking past resistance from key Israeli officials as he presses Israel and Hamas to agree to a three-phase agreement that could immediately bring home dozens of Israeli hostages, free Palestinian prisoners and perhaps even lead to an endgame in the nearly eight-month-old Gaza war.
Biden’s big swing — during a tough reelection battle — could also demonstrate to a significant slice of his political base demoralized by his handling of the conflict that he’s doing his part to end the war that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians and left hundreds of thousands struggling to meet basic needs.
White House officials on Monday said Biden’s decision to make public what it describes as an Israeli proposal — just one day after it was delivered to Hamas — was driven by a desire to put Hamas on the spot.
The move diverged from the U.S. administration’s position throughout the conflict to allow the Israelis to speak for themselves about hostage negotiations.
“The president felt that where we are in this war, where we are in the negotiations to get the hostages out, that it was time for a different approach and a time to make the proposal public, to try to energize the process here and catalyze a different outcome,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
Almost immediately after Biden detailed the proposal — which includes a cease-fire and phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza if Hamas releases all hostages — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it would continue its war until Hamas was destroyed.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.