Washington DC - Sex and the City star and activist Cynthia Nixon joined a rally outside the White House on Monday to launch a hunger strike in support of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Speaking as "the mother of Jewish children whose grandparents are Holocaust survivors," Nixon outlined the devastating toll of Israel's assault on Gaza: "In seven weeks, Israel has killed more civilians on a tiny strip of land than was killed in 20 years of war in the entire country of Afghanistan."

"I’m sick and tired of people explaining this away by saying that civilian casualties are a routine toll of war," she continued. "There is nothing routine about these figures. There is nothing routine about these deaths."

Authorities in Gaza say the death toll has surpassed 15,000 – including more than 6,000 children – since Israel launched its indiscriminate bombing campaign last month.

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The systemic denial of access to food, water, electricity, and medical supplies is expected to result in even more fatalities.

The launch of the five-day hunger strike was scheduled to coincide with a pause in the Israeli assault, negotiated to allow for the mutual exchange of hostages and prisoners between Israel and Hamas.

The temporary ceasefire was extended until Thursday, but Gaza is by no means safe, as Israeli officials have pledged to continue their attacks.

"I would like to make a personal plea to a president who has experienced such devastating personal loss," the Sex and the City star said, referencing the death of Joe Biden's son, Beau. "To connect with an empathy that he has acknowledged and to look at the children of Gaza and imagine that they were his children. We implore him that this current ceasefire must continue."

Nixon has returned to New York due to work commitments, but the other hunger strikers plan to gather in front of the White House each day until Friday, from 9 AM to 7 PM.