Natalie Portman thinks it’s “almost crazy to be talking about anything else” in the wake of the Hamas and Israel cease-fire deal.
While talking with Thierry Frémaux at Lumière Festival in Lyon, France, the “Star Wars” alum explained that it was a “very emotional day” for her as hostages and prisoners were released following the new peace deal.
“I’m From Jerusalem. I’m born in Jerusalem so today is a very, very emotional day,” Portman said. “To see the end of the war today, and the release and the swap of the prisoners and the hostages is really a momentous day. It feels almost crazy to be talking about anything else except celebrating, hopefully, peace.”
Hamas released 20 of the last living hostages into Israeli custody Monday as part of a newly brokered cease-fire deal. The hostages were transferred from the Red Cross to the Israeli military crossed over the border between Gaza and Israel. Israel, in turn, released 250 Palestinian prisoners into Gaza and the West Bank and more than 1,700 Palestinians it had detained in Gaza since the war broke out after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on an Israeli music festival.
President Donald Trump hailed the cease-fire and the release of the hostages on Monday as part of a “dawn of a new Middle East” in a speech before the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. He praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a man who, while “not the easiest guy to deal with,” showed “exceptional courage and patriotism” by agreeing to a deal.
Portman appeared at the Lumière Festival as a guest of honor. The fest was celebrating the span of her career and also screening her 2010 film “Black Swan.”
