"Horrifying to see, unfair what's happening to these kids" - Ons Jabeur offers sympathies to victims in Gaza amid Israel war; urges world to speak up

Ons Jabeur recently offered her sympathies to the victims in Gaza amidst the ongoing conflict with Israel. She also urged people around the world to raise awareness and advocate for the plight of the Palestinian people.

Jabeur is currently in Paris, competing at the 2024 French Open. Seeded eighth, she began her campaign by defeating American wild card Sachia Vickery 6-3, 6-2 and Camila Osorio 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the first and second rounds, respectively. The Tunisian then overcame 31st seed Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 7-6(5) to advance to the fourth round, where she will face Clara Tauson on June 2.

During the post-match press conference, Ons Jabeur talked about the ongoing conflict in Gaza and expressed her concern for the children, women, and men suffering under Israeli attacks.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine has a long history, but tensions escalated after a surprise attack by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, on Israel in October 2023.

Jabeur is a vocal supporter of putting an end to the conflict. She discussed the terrible circumstances facing Palestinian civilians during the press conference and urged greater international attention and action:

"I'm pretty sad to see the news every day and I honestly try not to be on social media because it's horrifying to see videos of what's happening in Gaza right now. I wish the world could speak more because it's really unfair what's happening to these kids, women and men are suffering. We are in 2024 and it's very sad to see that a lot of countries are silent about it," Ons Jabeur said [at 11:26].

Ons Jabeur revealed that, as a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), she is working to provide aid, but she expressed frustration at the lack of progress and urged more people to speak out .

The former World No. 2 wished for peace for the people in Gaza and reiterated that people worldwide should raise awareness and support the Palestinians.

"I'm trying to send them great energy, helping as a WFP (UN's World Food Programme) Ambassador trying to help as much as I can but it definitely makes me very sad and angry to see that nothing is moving and then nothing is really happening. So I wish for peace in Gaza and I wish more people would speak about this," she added [at 11:55].

Ons Jabeur donated part of her WTA Finals 2023 prize money to help Palestinian people

Ons Jabeur

Ons Jabeur showed her concern for the suffering of the Palestinian people during her on-court interview following her victory over Marketa Vondrousova in the round robin stage of the 2023 WTA Finals last year. It was "horrifying," she said, to see the daily struggles in Gaza, including the deaths of children.

Jabeur then revealed that she had decided to donate a portion of her WTA Finals prize money to support the people in Gaza.

"The situation in the world doesn't make me happy. It's very tough seeing children, babies dying every day. It's heartbreaking. So I've decided to donate part of my prize money to help the Palestinians," Jabeur had said.

Jabeur had said that she found it distressing to watch videos of the Palestinian people suffering, which prompted her to act out of a sense of humanity.

"It's very frustrating looking at videos every day. I'm sorry, it's not a political message. It's just humanity. I want peace in this world and that's it," she added.