Annie Lennox again calls for cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war, calls Gaza crisis 'heartbreaking'

Annie Lennox is steadfast in her call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The Scottish musician, on the red carpet for the Gershwin Prize event honoring Elton John and Bernie Taupin, told The Independent why she was wearing a pin, which several celebrities have worn in recent months.

"I'm very happy to share this, I'm very proud to do this. This is artists for peace," Lennox, 69, said of the red pin with a black heart inside an orange hand, designed by Artists4Ceasefire. "It's part of a community of creative people like myself and actors and musicians who really want to see a permanent cease-fire."

She later called what's happening in Gaza "heartbreaking."

"It's got to the point now where the whole world is looking at this with such horror. (The pin) is to say, 'Peace, peace for everyone.' Just to be sensible about this," Lennox told the outlet. "It's a complicated issue, and I know that. But, it is absolutely heartbreaking to see what's happening in Gaza right now."

At last year's Gershwin Prize concert, the Scottish powerhouse offered an emotional wallop as she presented Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides, Now." This year, she honored John and Taupin with equal intensity.

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The gospel flair of "Border Song," which marked John's first chart appearance in the U.S. in 1970, was an ideal match for Lennox’s booming voice and unforced dramatic flair. As she stood in a spotlight, unadorned, Lennox dug into her low register as she sang, "Holy Moses, let us live in peace" and completed her performance by blowing kisses to John and Taupin.

Annie Lennox among artists, celebrities calling for cease-fire

Lennox similarly made a call for a cease-fire during her Grammys "In Memoriam" performance in honor of Sinead O'Connor. As her rendition of O'Connor's indelible "Nothing Compares 2 U" ended, Lennox said with her first in the air: "Artists for a cease-fire. Peace in the world!"

Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, director Ava DuVernay, Mahershala Ali and "Poor Things" stars Ramy Youssef and Mark Ruffalo were among the other stars who sported red Artists4Ceasefire pins on the Academy Awards red carpet earlier this month.

Billie Eilish, Ramy Youssefwear red pins for Israel-Gaza cease-fire on Oscars red carpet

Last fall, Lennox, Youssef, DuVernay and Ruffalo were among several hundred actors, comedians and musicians who signed Artists4Ceasefire's open letter to President Joe Biden, which called for "the safe return of all the hostages and immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza."

"We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and cease-fire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost," the letter, published by the Artists4Ceasefire organization, read. "We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians."

A U.S.-sponsored resolution calling for an "immediate and sustained cease-fire" in the Israel-Hamas war failed in the United Nations Security Council Wednesday as Russia and China vetoed the measure.

Gaza cease-fire resolutionbacked by US fails in UN Security Council

The resolution called for a cease-fire as part of a deal to secure the release of all hostages in Gaza and get more humanitarian aid into the war-torn enclave, where famine is looming, said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Before the vote, she said it would be a "historic mistake" for the council to reject the resolution.

Contributing: Marco della Cava, KiMi Robinson, Christopher Cann and Melissa Ruggieri