‘Directly complicit in their deaths': Dua Lipa, Sherlock star join hands as 300 celebs call on UK PM to stop arms sales to Israel, end ‘horrors in Gaza'
Over 300 British stars from the world of music, cinema and entertainment, including pop star Dua Lipa, Succession actor Brian Cox and Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, have called on United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Keir Starmer to end the country's 'complicity in the horrors in Gaza'.
In a letter released on Thursday, also signed by other public figures and leading doctors, academics, advocacy groups and Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos, the signatories urge Starmer to immediately halt arms sales to Israel, adding that 'words won't feed Palestinian children'.
The letter demands three broad actions:
The letter became public on a day Israel said it will establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. This would include existing outposts built without government authorisation that will now be legalised.
Israel also continued its strikes on the Gaza Strip, killing 12 people overnight, health officials said.
As the Israel's ground offensive inside Gaza has continued, with casualties mounting up by day, the criticism of Netanyahu's regime by its allies in the West has also increased.
'Those who survive starvation wake up to bombs falling on them. Violence stamped with UK inaction – flown with parts shipped from British factories to Israel, could be obliterating families in seconds. Each arms shipment makes our country directly complicit in their deaths,' the letter argued.
Recently, the UK PM had said that 'the level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable,' and halted trade talks with the country.
Referring to the same, the public figures write: 'You can't call it 'intolerable' and keep sending arms.
Every moment this continues, is another moment children die on our watch. This complicity is not inevitable – it is a choice. What do you choose, Prime Minister?'
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