Benedict Cumberbatch, Riz Ahmed, Dua Lipa and Annie Lennox are among 300 public figures to have signed an open letter calling on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to end the country’s “complicity” in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“We urge you to take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors in Gaza,” read the letter.
“Right now, children in Gaza are starving while food and medicine sit just minutes away, blocked at the border.
However, a number of European leaders have expressed concerns over the Israel’s actions in Gaza in recent days.
However, top UK trade envoy Lord Austin went ahead with a trip to Israel this week to bolster ties between the two countries.
In an open letter, 300 public figures, including Annie Lennox, Dua Lipa, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Riz Ahmed, urge UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to end the nation’s “complicity” in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The letter said: “We implore you to act immediately to put an end to the United Kingdom’s involvement in the atrocities in Gaza.”. While food and medicine are just minutes away but are blocked at the border, children in Gaza are currently going hungry. Palestinian children cannot be fed by words alone; we must take action. Even as you read this, all 21.1 million people in Gaza are in danger of starvation.
In front of the world, mothers, fathers, infants, grandparents, and an entire population are left to starve. Since the Israeli government has been starving them for more than 70 days, 290,000 children are in danger of dying. “.”.
Signatories demanded that all UK arms sales to Israel be immediately halted, that experienced aid organizations have immediate humanitarian access, and that the UK government pledge to help mediate a ceasefire.
The letter is also being supported by Tobias Menzies, Tilda Swinton, Toby Jones, Steve Coogan, Sadie Frost, Ruth Negga, Lily Cole, and Mark Ruffalo, among other celebrities.
The operation coincides with mounting international alarm over the Israeli military’s 20-month-long campaign in the Gaza Strip, which was first launched in reaction to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, which resulted in 1,200 fatalities and another 251 hostages.
The Hamas-run health authority in Gaza has released the most recent figures, which put the death toll at over 54,000. The territory is on the verge of famine after Israel blocked food supplies for 11 weeks.
Choose Love, an NGO that supports displaced communities and offers emergency assistance, started the letter.
“We need Keir Starmer to take action right now,” stated Josie Naughton, co-founder and CEO of the agency. “That entails halting all licenses and sales of weapons and ensuring that only authorized humanitarian organizations can reach Gazans.”. It entails taking all necessary steps to put an end to these atrocities. Just as inaction is a choice, so is action. What we did at this precise moment will go down in history. The Prime Minister is being begged to make the correct decision. “.”.
Though the United Nations claims that not enough supplies are entering the region to address food shortages, Israel resumed aid deliveries last week. In search of food, a group of desperate individuals stormed into a warehouse in the strip overnight, killing two and injuring numerous others.
The governments of U. The K. Following the October 7 attacks, Israel has received strong support from Western allies such as France, Italy, Germany, and Canada.
Nonetheless, a number of European leaders have voiced their worries about Israel’s recent actions in Gaza.
At a press conference earlier this week in Finland, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Israel’s continuous bombardment of Gaza was “beyond comprehension.” Meanwhile, on Wednesday, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas stated that Israeli strikes in Gaza went beyond what was “necessary to fight Hamas.”.
On May 20, UK Foreign Minister David Lammy called Israel’s aid blockade in Gaza “intolerable” and “morally wrong, unjustifiable,” which prompted him to summon the Israeli ambassador and halt trade negotiations. Lord Austin, the top UK trade envoy, nevertheless, proceeded with a visit to Israel this week in an effort to strengthen relations between the two nations.
Following several other similar and distinct letters to Starmer this week, the letter from Thursday was signed by Ian McEwan and Zadie Smith and came from a group of writers from the UK and Ireland as well as leading lawyers.
