UK Urged to Let Aid Flow into Gaza as 700+ Sustainable Business Leaders Join in Appeal

More than 700 business and environmental leaders, including Ecotricity founder Dale Vince, People Tree founder Safia Minney, and former Unilever chief executive Paul Polman, are urging the provision of urgent humanitarian aid for Gaza. Their call comes through an open letter published under the banner of “Business Leaders for Peace.” First released earlier this summer, the letter surpassed 700 signatures on August 21.

Most of the signatories are backing the initiative in a personal capacity.

The letter, addressed to the UK Government, accuses Ministers of failing to act per international humanitarian law. It condemns what it describes as the normalisation of starvation, mass casualties, and the destruction of essential services such as hospitals and schools. Humanitarian access, it insists, must be allowed into Gaza at scale and without delay.

Warnings from UN agencies underscore the severity of the crisis. As of June, at least one-fifth of families in Gaza were in Phase Five famine, classified as catastrophic and irreversible. Nearly a third of children are now suffering from acute malnutrition. Israel imposed a total blockade on aid and commercial deliveries in March, occasionally loosening restrictions, but by late June, the most direct aid route was once again shut down.

Earlier this month, the UK joined dozens of European nations in saying that aid will only be allowed to flow freely when a ceasefire is agreed and Israeli hostages are released. The open letter challenges this stance, demanding that humanitarian access must not be contingent on political negotiations.

It states: “The 1,200 Israeli lives lost in the 7 October [2023] attacks, the civilians taken hostage, and the families still waiting in agony for their release are grave crimes under international law. However, the Israeli Government’s ongoing military campaign amounts to an unrelenting and indefensible assault on civilians, breaching both moral boundaries and the core principles of the Geneva Conventions.”

The human toll is devastating. Palestinian authorities report more than sixty-two thousand deaths since October 2023. The UN estimates that 1.9 million people, or about ninety percent of Gaza’s population, have been displaced.

Further to the ‘Business Leaders for Peace’ letter, signatory and former Unilever CEO Paul Polman wrote: “Business cannot succeed in societies that are falling apart. Peace is not only a moral imperative, it is the foundation for stable markets, resilient communities, and long-term value creation.

“It is time for business leaders to show courage, speak out, and use our influence to uphold international law, protect human rights, and help create the conditions in which both people and business can truly thrive.”

Ecotricity founder Dale Vince added, “If you’ve got a voice or a platform, use it. If you do business with Israel, end it. Doing nothing is complicity.”

Among those adding their voices to the call are Safia Minney of People Tree, Clover Hogan of climate group Force of Nature, Guy Singh-Watson of Riverford, Jonathon Porritt of Friends of the Earth and Forum for the Future, sustainability writer Mike Berners-Lee, and Louise Kjellerup Roper of Volans, the think tank founded by John Elkington.

Beyond the plea for immediate aid, the letter carries wider demands. It calls on the UK to suspend all arms transfers to Israel, citing obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits exports that could facilitate war crimes or crimes against humanity. It also urges sanctions on individuals and entities credibly linked to violations of international law, mirroring the measures imposed on Russian actors following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The signatories further want the UK to back international legal mechanisms. In 2023, the International Court of Justice instructed all states to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza. The International Criminal Court has since issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

In addition, the letter calls for the suspension of export licenses for goods that could support military operations in Gaza, tighter investment screenings to prevent the financing of companies tied to abuses, and the full enforcement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights across UK-linked supply chains.

Meanwhile, Israel has said it will respond by Friday, August 22, to Hamas’s latest ceasefire proposal, with international mediators set to participate in the talks.