Benedict Cumberbatch, RIZ Ahmed, Dua Lipa and Annie Lennox are among the 300 public figures who have signed an open letter on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to put an end to the “complicity” of the country in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“We recommend that you take immediate action to terminate the complicity of the UK in the horrors in Gaza,” read the letter. “At the moment, children in Gaza have been starved while food and medicines drive just a few minutes, blocked at the border. Words will not feed Palestinian children – we need action. Each of Gazas 2.1 million people runs the risk of hunger, as you read it.
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“Mothers, fathers, babies, grandparents – a whole people who were still over to starve in front of the world. 290,000 children are on the brink of death – starved by the Israeli government for more than 70 days.”
The signatories called for an immediate suspension of all British arms sale to Israel; Immediate humanitarian access for experienced aid organizations and dedication of the British government to help mediate a ceasefiring.
Further entertainment world figures that come behind the letter are Tobias Menzies, Tilda Swinton, Toby Jones, Steve Coogan, Sadie Frost, Ruth Negga, Lily Cole and Mark Ruffalo.
The initiative comes in the midst of the growing international unrest over the 20-month Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, originally initiated in response to Hamas' on 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and another 251 hostage.
The death toll in Gaza is currently on more than 54,000 people according to the latest figures released by the Hamas-Runned Health Authority of the Territory, with the territory on the edge of famine after the 11-week blockade of food supplies of Israel.
The letter was initiated by Choose Love, an NGO that offers emergency and support to displaced communities.
“We now need action from Keir Starmer,” said Josie Naughton, co-founder and CEO of the agency. “That means that stopping all weapons sales and licenses ensure that legitimate humanitarian organizations can reach people in Gaza. It means doing everything to let these atrocities end. Action is a choice, just like inactivity there is one. History will remember what we have done at the moment. We beg the prime minister to make the right choice.”
Israel resumed help from help last week, but the United Nations says that there are not enough stocks getting the territory to put an end to the food shortages. At night a crowd of desperate people in a warehouse in the comic in search of food, killed with two people and many injured in the scrum.
The governments of British and Western allies, including France, Italy, Germany and Canada, have been emphatically in their support of Israel after the attacks of 7 October.
In recent days, however, a number of European leaders have expressed concern about the actions of the Israel in Gaza.
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told earlier this week a press conference in Finland that the current bombing of Israel of Gaza was “outside the concept”, while Top EU diplomat, Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday that Israeli attacks in Gaza went beyond “needed to fight Hamas”.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Minister David Lammy called on the Israeli ambassador and suspended conversations about a trade agreement on 20 May, and called Israel's blockade on help with Gaza, “unbearable” and “morally wrong, not to be justified”. Top UK Trade Envoy Lord Austin, however, continued a trip to Israel this week to strengthen ties between the two countries.
Thursday's letter will follow a number of comparable and individual letters to starmer this week, from groups ranging from top lawyers to a collective of British and Ireland writers, with signatories, including Zadie Smith and Ian Mcewan.
The full list of signatories:
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Dr. Inua Ellams. Mbe. Frsa. Frsl.
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Professor Jacqueline Rose
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