No, seriously, how long must we sing this song? For a band who’s made one of the most beloved protest songs out there, U2’s stance on Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people tends to take a frustrating both-sides approach. Frontman Bono, for example, has spent the past three years advocating for Ukraine in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion, but he has a hard time condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without first criticizing Hamas. Now that Netanyahu has voiced his intentions to seize control of Gaza as he simultaneously subjects its people to full-fledged starvation, we’ve seen some previously-quiet celebrities and public figures finally speak out in support of a free Palestine. Today, U2 have shared an updated message about their stance.

Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. each wrote a statement of their own in a carousel posted to U2’s Instagram account. “Everyone has long been horrified by what is unfolding in Gaza — but the blocking of humanitarian aid and now plans for a military takeover of Gaza City has taken the conflict into uncharted territory,” they wrote in the caption. “We are not experts in the politics of the region, but we want our audience to know where we each stand.” There’s a lot to read through, and while they do demand Israel stops intercepting aid into Gaza, each of the band member’s statements today are pretty heavily contextualized in Hamas’ October 7 attack rather than Israel’s decades of occupation before it.

Read the full statements below.

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