US rapper Macklemore calls for 'free Palestine' at concert in Germany

Prominent American rapper Benjamin Haggerty, known as Macklemore, has voiced his support for Palestine during a concert in Germany.

“There will never be reparations for that (the Holocaust). The only way that we can atone for our past is by today standing up against apartheid, against occupation, against genocide for free Palestine. That’s the only way,” he said on Saturday.

Macklemore stressed his desire for universal safety and love, saying: “I want everyone to feel like they can wake up and have a shot at the day, to have breath in their lungs and not be scared.”

He also criticized the Gaza policies of both the US and Germany, saying: “We are represented by the heart inside of our chest. Let that lead. Not our officials.”

Following his speech, Macklemore performed Hind's Hall, a song he wrote in support of Palestine.

Gaza in ruins

Israel’s brutal military offensive has killed more than 36,400 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, following a Hamas incursion.

The majority of those killed are women and children, with over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians had sought refuge from the genocidal war.