Bono, the iconic frontman of U2 and a long-time global activist, recently made a deeply distressing declaration at the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards. As he accepted the Fellowship of the Ivors Academy — the highest honor the songwriting institution bestows — he used his moment on stage not for celebration, but for a powerful plea: “Hamas, release the hostages. Stop the war. Israel, be released from Benjamin Netanyahu and the far-right fundamentalists that twist your sacred texts.” (NME)
This was more than a perfunctory speech; Bono’s voice trembled with moral urgency. He recalled the classic U2 anthem “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” noting that believing in peace has always been a rebellious act — and now, in the face of such intractable violence, perhaps the most necessary one. (NME)
But what made his announcement so devastating wasn’t just the weightiness of his words — it was the raw grief behind them. Bono condemned both Hamas’s initial atrocities and Israel’s increasingly forceful response. In a joint statement with his bandmates, he argued that Israel’s military action and its upcoming plan for a ground offensive in Gaza City brought the conflict “into uncharted territory.” (euronews)
He did not mince words: the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, especially the reported starvation of civilians, reminded him of past famines he witnessed on his charity trips to Africa. (The Times of Israel) He called the blocking of aid and the targeting of innocent people a “moral failure” — asserting that the suffering inflicted on civilians is not just a tragic byproduct of war, but a deliberate, horrifying strategy. (euronews)
In his speech, Bono also made a deeply personal appeal to protect aid workers, calling them “the best of us.” (NME) His words were suffused with an almost spiritual lament: “God, you must be so tired of us, children of Abraham, in the rubble of our certainties. Children in the rubble of our revenge. God forgive us.” (The Times of Israel) The devastation he described wasn’t just physical — it was existential, a crisis not just of politics, but of humanity and faith.
In the aftermath of his speech, Bono and U2 released deeper statements elaborating on their stance. They explicitly condemned the Netanyahu-led government, criticizing its far-right leadership as twisting sacred religious texts to justify violence. (euronews) He warned that if Israel were to militarily take over Gaza City, many view it as a euphemism for colonization — a development he described as terrifying and morally indefensible. (euronews)
The pain in Bono’s voice was not just as a singer or public figure — but as a humanitarian who has devoted much of his life to calling out injustice. His plea was heartbreaking because it came not from a place of political ambition, but from raw empathy, fear, and a refusal to remain silent in what he perceives as a profound moral catastrophe.
In delivering this message on such a major stage, Bono made clear: for him, the world’s suffering isn’t distant news — it’s a personal burden. His words were not just criticism; they were a call to conscience. And that, perhaps, is what makes his announcement so devastating: it forces us to reckon with how deeply broken things have become, and how urgent the need is for change.
Leave a Reply