Queen Rania of Jordan Changes Her Profile Pictures to Black as War Continues: 'This Has to Stop'

Queen Rania of Jordan made a change to her social media as the Israel-Hamas war continues.

The Queen of Jordan, 53, updated the profile pictures of her verified Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to a black background amid the ongoing conflict. The pages previously featured a glamorous headshot.

Queen Rania is not the first royal to refresh her social media presence to meet a somber moment, as members of the British royal family including Kate Middleton and Prince William temporarily changed their pages following the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022 and for annual occasions like Remembrance Day.

The change came as Rania spoke for the first time online following the terrorist group Hamas' deadly surprise attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. The royal posted a video of herself from a press conference in 2009 about violence in the region at the time on Instagram on Tuesday.

“Speaking in 2009 in the midst of a three-week war on Gaza. Fourteen years – and five wars – later, it is heartbreaking to see how little has changed. The world cannot remain silent. This has to stop,” Queen Rania captioned the clip.

According to the Associated Press and Reuters, 1,400 people, including 31 Americans, have been killed in the Hamas attacks in Israel, while roughly 2,800 Palestinians have been reported killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza. 

On Tuesday, a Gaza hospital was destroyed, reportedly killing more than 500 people who had been displaced amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The source of the strike was not immediately clear, with the Israeli government saying the explosion was caused by a rocket fired by a terrorist group called Islamic Jihad, which sympathizes with Hamas. In a statement to the Times of Israel, the IDF said: “An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit.”

Jordan borders Israel, and Queen Rania’s husband, King Abdullah, has been vocal about the rapidly developing situation since it began. Abdullah, 61, has called for de-escalation of Gaza and the surrounding region, the Royal Hashemite Court said in an Oct. 8 statement recapping a call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani. 

According to the court, King Abdullah, who acts as the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces, used his Oct. 11 speech to parliament to reaffirm “Jordan’s unwavering position on the Palestinian cause.”

“There can be no security, no peace, and no stability without a just and comprehensive peace, to which the only way can be through the two-state solution,” he was quoted as saying. 

In a press conference following a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday, King Abdullah said that neither Jordan nor Egypt would accept refugees. 

"That is a red line because I think that is the plan by certain of the usual suspects to try and create de facto issues on the ground. No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt," he said, according to Reuters. 

The Royal Hashemite Court also revealed that King Abdullah was due to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas separately on Wednesday. 

“Talks will focus on means of ending the ongoing war on Gaza and its dangerous repercussions on the region, in addition to guaranteeing the provision of relief aid to the Strip,” a statement said. A four-way summit with the American, Egyptian and Palestinian leaders was also planned to discuss the escalating situation in Gaza and ways to a peace process.

Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday and met with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring that he wanted the people of Israel and the world “to know where the United States stands” in Israel’s war against Hamas.

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“Americans are grieving with you, they really are," Biden, 80, told Netanyahu, 73, in a televised video obtained by CNN. “Americans are worried because we know this is not an easy field to navigate, what you have to do.” Biden also told the prime minister that they would make sure Israel has what it needs to “defend” itself against Hamas attacks.