LONDON (AA) - Former English footballer and BBC sports program host Gary Lineker said he cannot be silent about what is happening in the Gaza Strip under Israeli attacks.
He said Friday that he has never witnessed anything worse in his life, and he constantly cries when he watches images of children being killed.
Lineker spoke to journalist Mehdi Hasan, about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"Actually, this issue does not concern me directly. I am not a Muslim. I am not Jewish. I am not Israeli. I am not Palestinian. So, I see, I think purely from the outside as from a neutral perspective and I cannot think of anything that I have seen worse in my lifetime. The constant images of children losing their lives day in, day out,” he said.
“We all know that the Hamas incident happened on Oct. 7th. But right now, as soon as you raise your voice against what they (Israel) are doing there, you are accused of being a Hamas supporter or something like that. There is a lot of lobbying to keep people silent,” said the former footballer.
Lineker pointed out that it is why he understands why many are afraid to speak out about Gaza and said he cannot remain silent about what is happening and that what he sees is horrific.
Lineker responded to criticism of antisemitism, saying that Israel has an agenda to launch a ground offensive against Rafah.
"I do not think it is antisemitic to say that what Israel is doing is wrong. I do not understand how everyone does not see it that way at the moment. Whatever the reason, whatever started it, we all know that the history of this part of the world goes back much further than Oct. 7," said Lineker.
Saying that what is happening in Gaza is very horrible, Lineker added: "When I see some images on social media, I cry all the time."
*Writing by Zeynep Cetin in Istanbul