UPDATE: Eleven Brent Labour councillors have now signed the Muslim councillors' letter to the Labour leadership requesting the Labour Party call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Eleven  Brent Labour Councillors have now signed the letter from more than 250 Muslim Labour councillors formally calling on the Labour leadership to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the humanitarian crisis. The signatories include Council leader Muhammed Butt's brother, the deputy mayor and a former whip of the Labour Group.

It was signed by:

Cllr Tariq Dar MBE – Brent Council

Cllr Sandra Kabir – Brent Council

Cllr Saqlain Choudry – Brent Council

Cllr Rita Begum – Brent Council

Cllr Saqib Butt, Vice Chair Planning Committee – Brent Council

Cllr Ishma Moeen – Brent Council

 Cllr Parvez Ahmed (Chair Licensing Committee) - Brent Council

 Cllr Ajmal Akram - Brent Council

 Cllr Amer Agha - Brent Council

Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam - Brent Council

Cllr Harbi Farah (Cabinet Member for Safer Communities & Public Safety) - Brent Council

Dear Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner,

We the undersigned write to you as Muslim Labour Party councillors, formally calling  on the Labour Party to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the  humanitarian disaster.

5,791 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7th October. Of  those killed 2,360 of them have been children. It has also been reported that 704  Palestinians had been killed in the previous 24 hours alone. This is in addition to 1400 Israelis who lost their lives in the shocking terror attacks of October 7th.

Everyday we fail to call on the government and the international community to push  for cessation of hostilities, Gazan children and hundreds of innocent men and women  pay the price. As a party that bases its principles on fairness and justice, we can not sit  idly by as Palestinian’s face collective punishment.

This week five UN agencies, including The World Food Programme (WFP) and the  World Health Organization (WHO) have called for a humanitarian ceasefire as they  described the conditions in Gaza as “catastrophic”. Leaders across all faiths, including  the Archbishop of Canterbury, have also called for a ceasefire and polling shows the  vast majority of Britons and Labour voters support this position (YouGov poll: 76% of  the British public support a ceasefire).

The humanitarian aid that has passed through into Gaza through the Rafah crossing is  a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared to the humanitarian crisis at large in the region.  Without an immediate ceasefire, UN agencies, NGO’s and charities have made it clear  that much needed aid will not reach pregnant women, children, critically ill patients  and those others that will simply be left to die.

Gaza is home to 2.2 million people, over half of whom are children. Before this crisis  began, over 80% of the population relied on aid, now this crisis has turned to  catastrophe. The innocent civilians in Gaza have had nothing to do with this crisis and  bear no responsibility to its outcome.

As Labour councillors elected to serve our constituents, the message we have been  hearing repeatedly over the past 2 weeks is simple, people just want an end to the  bloodshed and the loss of innocent life. No nation, no people or community should  have to endure collective punishment and the same should be the case for the  Palestinian people. We are also clear that hostages held captive must also be returned  to their families safely.

Therefore, as Labour Party councillors, as members, and as members of the Muslim  community we urge the Labour Party to urgently adopt a position of calling for an  immediate ceasefire, calling on the UK government and the international community  to act upon this proposal to save innocent human lives.