100 more famed actors, athletes, and activists call for halting UK arms sales to Israel
Judi Dench, Ncuti Gatwa among signatories urging UK to end ‘complicity in the horrors of Gaza�
LONDON
Another 100 well-known actors, athletes and activists on Thursday called on the UK government to suspend arms exports to Israel over its ongoing offensive in Gaza.
Among the signatories are Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa, actress Dame Judi Dench, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who joined others in urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to "end the UK’s complicity" in the conflict.
In late May, more than 300 artists, musicians, athletes and public figures — including Dua Lipa, Gary Lineker and Benedict Cumberbatch — issued a similar call, asking the British government to halt arms sales to Israel.
According to a report by Sky News, additional signatories include Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten, Harry Potter actress Bonnie Wright and former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw. The letter urges the government to “take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza.”
In September, the British government announced that it was suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel following a review that found a “clear risk” that some exports could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The suspended licenses include components for military aircraft, helicopters, drones and targeting equipment — though they exclude UK-made components used in the F-35 fighter jet program.
The letter also highlights the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stating that children are starving “while food and medicine sit just minutes away,” referring to Israel’s blockade of aid deliveries into the enclave.
More than 70,000 children under age 4 are “acutely malnourished,” the letter says, and those who survive “wake up to bombs falling on them.”
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 55,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
