Formula One star Lewis Hamilton has called on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. He visited Egypt’s Rafah border crossing and found aid trucks waiting to enter Gaza.
“The past three years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza is appalling,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram. “It’s an injustice for people to be denied their freedom, their safety, and their dignity. No human being should be treated as though their life matters less.”
Israel rejects the genocide term and says its Gaza operation is aimed at Hamas militants.
Ferrari driver and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton arrived in El Arish, an Egyptian city near Gaza, on Tuesday. He visited the Rafah crossing and the warehouses of the Egyptian Red Crescent, where he saw how aid is prepared and delivered to Gaza. North Sinai Governor Khaled Maghawer accompanied him.
“I saw walls stretching for miles, built to keep them in,” Hamilton wrote. “Standing there, outside what felt like an open-air prison, all I could think about was getting in to help.”
In the photos he shared, he is seen with Red Crescent volunteers and workers, as well as trucks with food waiting to cross.
“At Rafah border, I saw food trucks lined up ready to go, but they’re regularly not allowed in or face major delays,” he wrote. “The first driver in line that I spoke to had already been waiting over 12 hours.”
He also describes the rejected supplies at a logistics center near the crossing.
“At the nearby logistics center, I saw the hard work of the aid workers, but I also saw what gets rejected for crazy reasons,” he wrote. “Sleeping bags, first aid kits, medical equipment, wheelchairs, even footballs for kids.”
Israel inspects the aid that goes to Gaza and blocks items it says can be used for military or civilian purposes. The officials say it helps prevent Hamas from rearming itself. Aid organizations and European Union officials say the criteria are unclear and Israel has not published a list of the restricted items. Last December, EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said trucks were turned away for sleeping bags because they were green and for wheelchairs because of their wheels.
“Israel needs to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire and let the aid trucks in. No excuse,” Hamilton wrote.
Under the October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israel committed to allowing 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily. According to U.N. agencies and aid organizations, the deliveries are far below the target. COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for aid deliveries, disagrees, saying the food that has entered Gaza since the ceasefire is more than the United Nations World Food Program needs. Israel said last month that the Rafah crossing would remain closed until Hamas meets its responsibilities under the ceasefire agreement.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is not blocking aid and accused Hamas of causing problems in Gaza by not disarming and using aid for military purposes.
The ceasefire agreement, brokered by the United States, remains in force, but it has not stopped Israeli strikes on Gaza. The World Food Program says about two in every three people in Gaza are starving. Recent rains have flooded camps of displaced Palestinians, and the U.N. said on Wednesday that more than 150,000 tents purchased by aid organizations and member states are waiting outside Gaza for permission from Israel to enter.
Hamilton, who turned 41 this year, has spoken about Gaza before. He called for an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza in 2024, and in January he visited a hospital and an aid packing center in Jordan that assist Gaza residents. In 2021, he launched Mission 44, a charity that helps young people get education and employment opportunities.
Hamilton finished ninth at the São Paulo Grand Prix last weekend. He will compete at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with practice starting on Nov. 20.
He ended his post with a message to his followers.
“I know so many people feel that same helplessness. That same need to do something rather than just watch,” Hamilton wrote. “I don’t want us to get used to their suffering. I don’t want us to look away.”
