Cannes: Nearly 400 entertainers and film industry figures, including Oscar-winning actors and Palme d'Or recipients, have signed an open letter calling for an end to the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. The letter urges the international film community, ahead of the annual Cannes festival, to break its silence over the suffering and death.

According to Anadolu Agency, the signatories demand the world rise up and refuse to accept the death, destruction, and devastation unfolding in Gaza. They also reject the propaganda that allows for the dehumanization of Palestinians and others. This statement coincides with the letter's release on Tuesday, just ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, which highlights the killing of Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona by Israeli forces.

Hassona was reportedly killed one day after the announcement that a documentary about her life, "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk," had been selected for screening in a section of the festival spotlighting independent films.

Among the letter's signatories are high-profile actors such as Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, Viggo Mortensen, Richard Gere, and Cynthia Nixon, as well as acclaimed director Pedro Almodovar. The letter also received support from Cannes laureates and internationally renowned filmmakers and actors, including Justine Triet, Adele Exarchopoulos, Mike Leigh, Aki Kaurismaki, Lukas Dhont, Xavier Dolan, Costa-Gavras, Jonathan Glazer, Ruben Ostlund, Isabel Coixet, David Cronenberg, Julie Christie, and Fernando Meirelles.

The signatories condemned what they described as the dehumanization of Palestinians and demanded an end to what they called the "genocide" in Gaza. The Israeli army resumed its assaults on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing 2,780 people and injuring nearly 7,700 others, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that began in January.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.