A group of military experts, diplomats and academics has urged UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron to call for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

“We firmly believe it is in the interest of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians, and indeed the whole region, for the current hostilities to de-escalate,” the letter, signed by the former head of the British army and 13 others, asserted.

“The UK does not have to follow America’s lead — particularly when US public and opinion is far from united,” it said.

While the experts noted the government’s “slight positive change in tone” in recent days, they said the UK’s consistent “rejection of an immediate ceasefire was strategically ill-advised and morally indefensible”.