Mo Salah called on world leaders to stop the violence and the 'killing of innocents', without specifically mentioning the Israeli police's assault on Palestinians or the military's bombardment of Gaza.

Liverpool football star Mohamed Salah has urged world leaders to "do everything in their power" to prevent the deaths of "innocent people", as Israeli bombardments on besieged Gaza kill 48 people, including 14 children.

Palestinians have been disproportionately affected after days of back-to-back violence by Israeli police in the West Bank and Israel, which has led to over 700 injuries.

On Tuesday, the 28-year-old footballer wrote: "I'm calling on all world leaders including on the Prime Minister of the country that has been my home for the past 4 years to do everything in their power to make sure the violence and killing of innocent people stops immediately. Enough is enough @BorisJohson."

The UK Prime Minister broke his silence on Israel's recent abuses against Palestinians on Wednesday, taking much longer than other UK party heads.

The Tory leader urged "both sides" to show restraint, a hackneyed refrain partially ignorant of Israel's far superior and deadly military capabilities, and called for an "urgent de-escalation of tensions".

Salah, one of Egypt's star players, was criticised by swathes of his 14.3 million followers for his response, which came after he posted a picture of himself praying at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem.

I’m calling on all the world leaders including on the Prime Minister of the country that has been my home for the past 4 years to do everything in their power to make sure the violence and killing of innocent people stops immediately. Enough is enough. @BorisJohnson

— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) May 11, 2021

Fans felt his statement, not too unlike Johnson's, was generic and was also late amid mounting public pressure to speak out.

Samah D Jarrah, a radio host and author, wrote: "Hope next tweet you will mention Palestinians". Omar Said, a journalist for Egyptian news site Mada Masr, reminded him of the nation Palestinians identify as their homeland: "[Its] name is Palestine, unless you've forgotten".

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