'Death on the Nile' film banned in Lebanon, Kuwait over Israeli actress Gal Gadot

Israeli actress Gal Gadot

Israeli actress Gal Gadot's time serving in the Israeli army caused Lebanon, a country officially in a state of war with Tel Aviv, to also ban 'Wonder Woman' in 2017.

The film 'Death on the Nile' has been banned from showing in Lebanon and Kuwait for starring controversial Israeli actress Gal Gadot.

Gadot, 36, had spent two years in the Israeli forces before becoming a household name in the film industry. She has also publicly praised the Israeli forces on numerous occasions, including during Israeli wars on the Gaza Strip in 2008 and in 2021.

Gadot's time in the Israeli army caused Lebanon, a country officially in a state of war with Tel Aviv, to also ban 2017's 'Wonder Woman', in which she played the lead character.

The ban on Gadot's film in Kuwait, revealed last week by the country's Al-Qabas daily, came after an online campaign calling for a boycott.

Neither Kuwait nor Lebanon asked for any changes to be made to the film.

Gadot issued a Twitter statement on 12 May last year, during Israel's deadly 11-day bombing campaign against Gaza and Palestinian militants' rocket fire on Israel, that drew anger from pro-Palestine critics.

In the message, which remains available on her social media platforms, she said her "country [Israel] is at war".

"[W]ar??? it's not a war if the other side doesn't even have an army", a user going by the name "douha!" responded on 19 May, adding that "[C]hildren and their families are being murdered and their homes are being destroyed."

The user called what was happening "ethnic cleansing and genocide" by Israel.

Overall, Israel's campaign against Gaza, which ended on 21 May, killed 256 Palestinians while rockets launched by Hamas and other Gaza militants killed 13 in Israel.

The New Arab has tried to reach representatives for Gal Gadot for a comment over the banning of 'Death on the Nile', which previews in other Middle Eastern countries this weekend.