"Israel" has criticized the Sanremo Italian Song Festival, Italy's largest entertainment event, after a rapper participating in the contest's final asked for a halt to the ongoing genocide on stage, saying, "Stop the war, stop the genocide."

Alon Bar, the occupation's ambassador to Italy, said the festival, which selects the Italian contender for the Eurovision Song Contest, has been used to "spread hatred and provocation in a superficial, irresponsible way" after the comments of the rapper, Ghali.

In a social media post, Bar reminded the world of Operation Al-Aqsa flood and claimed that the Sanremo festival rather than express solidarity with the 28,340 Palestinians slaughtered at the hands of "Israel" should have expressed solidarity with the dozens of Israeli captives instead and "young people slaughtered" on October 7.

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Noemi Di Segni, head of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, told Ansa news agency she was dissatisfied that the platform was not utilized to call for the captives' release. 

Amid the uproar, Roberto Sergio, the CEO of Rai, the state-owned broadcaster that airs the event, yielded to Israeli pressure and claimed to have sympathy for the "people of Israel," completely sidelining the Palestinians, while ensuring the network's shows recount the tales of Israeli captives every day and recall what he dubbed the "massacre" of October 7.

Ghali, a child of Tunisian immigrants to Italy, told Rai talk show Domenica that he has spoken out against such injustice before October 7, from as early as when he was 7 years old. He described the Israeli ambassador's comments as "not good", citing that the "policy of terror continues, people are afraid to say stop the war, stop the genocide, we are living in a moment in which people feel that they are losing something if they say long live peace.”

Several more musicians spoke out against the war at the occasion. Eros Ramazzotti, a singer, declared: "No more blood, no more wars," while rapper and singer Dargen D'Amico stated, "There are children under the bombs, without water or food. Our silence is co-responsibility."

"Israel" has committed yet another brutal massacre against #Palestinians in #Gaza, but this time, in the southern city of #Rafah, where over a million Palestinians live in tents under dire humanitarian conditions.#GazaGenocide #RafahMassacre pic.twitter.com/QtQfFtDlBV

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 12, 2024