The Oscar-winning actors Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz have fuelled furious divisions within Hollywood over the Gaza conflict by accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in the territory.

Pledges to shun the Spanish actors – believed to have been made privately by a handful of top industry executives – came after Bardem and Cruz, who are married, signed an open letter denouncing “the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli occupation army”.

The letter accused Israel of stoking the conflict by “advancing on Palestinian territories instead of withdrawing to the 1967 borders”. It added: “Gaza is living through horror . . . while the international community does nothing.”

The backlash was swift, with the actor Jon Voight calling for Cruz, 40, and Bardem, 45, to “hang your heads