New York (Quds News Network)- More than 350 film industry figures, including Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, have denounced Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza in an open letter released by pro-Palestinian activists on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival. “We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza,” said the letter published on Monday in French newspaper Liberation and US magazine Variety. The signatories, which include acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and former Cannes winner Ruben Ostlund, decried Israel’s killing of Gazan photojournalist Fatima Hassouna who is the subject of a documentary which will premiere in Cannes on Thursday by Iranian director Sepideh Farsi, titled "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk". Hassouna was killed along with 10 relatives in an Israeli airstrike on her family home in northern Gaza last month, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection. Farsi welcomed the impact of her film but called on Cannes Festival organisers to denounce Israel's ongoing bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. "There needs to be a real statement," she told AFP. "Saying 'the festival isn't political' makes no sense." This year's Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche was initially said by organisers to have signed the petition, but her spokeswoman told AFP she had not endorsed it and her name was not published by Liberation. Israel unilaterally violated the Gaza ceasefire in March 18 after refusing to proceed to the second phase, which would have secured the release of all remaining captives. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected offers from Hamas for their release. Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s main crossings, halting the flow of food, medical aid, and other humanitarian supplies. This blockade has caused a severe and unprecedented decline in living conditions, with human rights organizations accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians. Since resuming the assault, over 2,700 Palestinians have been killed, mostly children and women, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.