"We urge you to take immediate action to end the UK's complicity in the horrors in Gaza," wrote the authors of the letter, also signed by singer Annie Lennox, artist Tracey Emin, actors Riz Ahmed, Tilda Swinton and Noomi Rapace, AFP reported.
"We call on you to immediately halt all arms sales and export licenses from the UK to Israel, use all available means to ensure full humanitarian access to Gaza for experienced organisations without military intervention, make a commitment to the children of Gaza to negotiate an immediate and lasting ceasefire and end the famine," they added.
"Words will not save the lives of Palestinian children who are being killed, words will not fill their empty stomachs. Immediate action is needed from Kir Starmer," said Josie Knighton, co-founder of Choose Love, the refugee aid association that initiated the letter.
The Labour leader described the situation in Gaza as "unbearable" and condemned the mid-May intensification of the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The British government suspended negotiations on a free trade agreement with Israel and summoned that country's ambassador to the UK.
In September 2024, London suspended some 30 arms export licences to Israel, citing a "risk" that they would be used in violation of international law in Gaza.
NGOs have filed a lawsuit demanding that this ban be extended to cover the export of UK-made parts used in US F-35 fighter jets used by Israel.
On 27 May, some 380 UK and Irish writers, including Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan, condemned the genocide in Gaza and demanded the immediate and unlimited distribution of food and medical aid from the UN and a ceasefire. | BGNES