Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton’s Rafah visit puts a spotlight on Gaza aid delays, and on the Skims-shaped elephant in the room

Lewis Hamilton spent Tuesday far from any pit lane, standing at one of the most closely watched borders in the world. The seven-time Formula One world champion arrived in Egypt’s El Arish on Tuesday to see firsthand how humanitarian and relief aid bound for the Gaza Strip is received.

The itinerary was practical rather than glamorous. The North Sinai governorate said the visit included a tour of the Rafah border crossing and the Egyptian Red Crescent’s aid warehouses in El Arish, where Hamilton was briefed on how aid is prepared and coordinated before it goes into Gaza. Khaled Megawer, the governor of North Sinai, said the visit was meant to help Hamilton learn about Egypt’s efforts to send aid to Gaza. Pictures of the 41-year-old listening to officials in the desert heat are a long way from a podium champagne spray.

This is not Hamilton’s first trip of this kind. It follows a December 2025 visit to Jordan, where he traveled with the British Red Cross to observe humanitarian operations supporting Gaza. He is also no stranger to charity work, since he founded Mission 44 in 2021 to support young people with education and employment. Celebrity advocacy often stops at an Instagram caption, so a boots-on-the-ground visit is worth noting.

What Hamilton said he saw

The day after the visit, Hamilton went public with his takeaways. He described food trucks lined up and ready to go at the border that were regularly held up or badly delayed. At a nearby logistics center, he said, items had been rejected for reasons he found absurd, including sleeping bags, first-aid kits, medical equipment, wheelchairs and footballs for children.

He did not mince words about who he thinks should act. Hamilton said Israel needs to meet its obligations under the ceasefire and let the aid trucks in. He also used the word genocide to describe the past three years in Gaza, a characterization that Israel strongly denies, saying its military campaign targets Hamas militants. His closing note was personal, and he wrote, “I don’t want us to look away.”

The Skims of it all

No celebrity moment survives the internet without a side plot, and Hamilton’s comes with a shapewear label attached. He and Kim Kardashian sparked dating rumors when they were seen together at the 2026 Super Bowl. By summer, the speculation was over. Kardashian made the relationship Instagram official on August 18, and she was in Monaco in June to support her boyfriend at the Grand Prix. The couple is now one of the most talked-about pairings of the year.

Kardashian’s business, meanwhile, has its own history with this conflict. Skims signed an exclusive partnership with Israeli distributor Irani Corp, the parent company of retailer Factory 54, and announced it in November 2025. Online sales began on November 10, with in-store spaces following in December. A standalone Skims store later opened at Ramat Aviv Mall, and a second location was set to open at BIG Fashion Glilot. The rollout drew boycott calls from critics who argued it was tone-deaf amid the situation in Gaza.

That history is why some people online see a contradiction. They point to the gap between one of F1’s most visible advocates for Palestinians and a partner whose brand has expanded in Israel. Others will say a person’s relationship and a person’s activism are separate things, and that a partner’s business decisions are not his to answer for. Both reactions are already filling comment sections, and neither shows signs of fading.

What happens next?

The more consequential question has little to do with gossip. Hamilton has put a famous face on a logistics story that rarely gets one, namely trucks, warehouses, and rejected supplies sitting at a border. Whether that attention changes anything for the people waiting on those shipments is something no one can say yet. For now, a racing champion went to look at the aid pipeline himself, and he came back asking people not to turn away.

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