WASHINGTON

Nearly two dozen prominent economists from leading universities in the US and Europe, including multiple Nobel laureates, urged Israel to immediately halt policies deepening starvation in the Gaza Strip and to abandon plans to forcibly relocate civilians.

In an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the 23 economists voiced “urgent concern about the spreading starvation in Gaza” and the Israeli government’s plans to concentrate civilians in a so-called “humanitarian city.”

“As human beings and as economists and scientists, we call for an immediate halt to any policy that intensifies widespread starvation,” they wrote.

The signatories included Nobel Prize winners Daron Acemoglu, Angus Deaton, Peter Diamond, Esther Duflo, Claudia Goldin, Eric Maskin, Roger Myerson, Edmund Phelps, Christopher Pissarides and Joseph Stiglitz, alongside other leading scholars such as Olivier Blanchard and Maurice Obstfeld.

Citing warnings by the UN World Food Program, the letter said nearly one-third of Gaza’s 2.1 million people have endured multiple days without food, while basic food prices are now 10 times higher than three months ago.

The collapse of UN aid distribution and its replacement with a limited number of aid sites set up by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has led to “deadly chaos,” the economists said, with more than 1,000 people killed or wounded in stampedes for scarce rations.

They warned that the proposed “humanitarian city” would confine hundreds of thousands of Gazans to a restricted zone, stripping them of "freedom of movement and dignity."

“It is unconscionable for Israel to treat civilians as liabilities to be contained rather than as human beings entitled to livable conditions,” they wrote.

Last month, Israel unveiled plans to relocate Gaza’s entire population to what it called a “humanitarian city” in Rafah. From there, they would be allowed to emigrate from Gaza to other countries.

The letter also cautioned against severe economic repercussions for Israel, including possible European sanctions, credit rating downgrades, capital flight and accelerated emigration of skilled professionals, especially from the high-tech sector.

The economists called on Israel to restore sufficient food and medical aid, renounce relocation plans, reaffirm its commitment to human rights and international law, and “actively pursue in good faith” a ceasefire that would improve humanitarian conditions, secure the return of hostages and end the fighting.

“Only by doing so can Israel avert widespread famine, preserve its democratic character, and safeguard its long-term economic prospects,” they said, urging Western leaders to push for the policies’ implementation.

Gaza’s hunger crisis has spiraled into a humanitarian catastrophe. Harrowing footage shows severely emaciated residents, some reduced to skin and bone, collapsing from exhaustion, dehydration and prolonged starvation.

Four more people died of starvation and malnutrition in the last 24 hours in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory's Health Ministry, taking the overall toll of famine-related deaths to 239, including 106 children.

According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, 1.2 million children face “severe food insecurity,” and at least 239 Palestinians, including 106 children, have died from starvation since October 2023.

The World Food Program warns that 100,000 children and women are suffering from acute malnutrition, while a quarter of Gaza’s population lives in conditions “close to famine.” UNICEF says children are dying at “unprecedented rates” from hunger.

Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed nearly 61,800 people since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for 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.