Thom Yorke, frontman of Radiohead and The Smile, has issued a statement on Instagram and Bluesky addressing his silence on the Gaza War, which had drawn criticism from many Radiohead fans and other musicians.

Radiohead drew significant criticism for performing in Israel in 2017, leading to an open letter signed by the likes of Roger Waters, Ken Loach, and Mariam Margolis.

Yorke's new statement opens by discussing a situation at a solo show of his in Melbourne last October, in which Yorke was heckled by a protestor who called on Yorke to "condemn the Israeli genocide of Gaza".

Trying to make his views clear, Yorke states:

"I think Netanyahu and his crew of extremists are totally out of control and need to be stopped, and that the international community should put all the pressure it can on them to cease. Their excuse of self-defence has long since worn thin and has been replaced by a transparent desire to take control of Gaza and the West Bank permanently."

He describes the situation in Gaza as an "unfolding humanitarian catastrophe" and the Israeli blockade of Gaza as "horrific," before turning his attention to Hamas and what he perceives as the uncritical use of the slogan "Free Palestine."

"I believe Hamas chooses to hide behind the suffering of its own people," Yorke states, "in an equally cynical fashion for their own purposes." He also criticizes the slogan "Free Palestine" as "not answer[ing] the simple question of why the hostages have still not all been returned".

The rest of the statement, broadly, tackles social media and pressures for celebrities to speak out on a variety of issues. "Social media witch-hunts," he argues, "do very little except heighten the tension, fear, and oversimplification of what are complex problems."