Gaza Humanitarian Crisis: 4,000 Scientists Urge Israel to Act

Gaza Humanitarian Crisis: 4,000 Scientists Urge Israel to Act

New Delhi: More than 4,000 scientists from across the world have written to secretary general of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They artifical shortage of food is “unbearable”, they argue, as is the complete denial of healthcare, education and basic well-being.

Signatories include 14 Nobel laureates, five Fields Medal winners, 20 Breakthrough Prize recipients, 34 Dirac Prize winners and four Wolf Prize winners, according to The Hindu. The Nobel laureates include theoretical physicists Gerard ‘t Hooft and David Politzer, mathematician Roger Penrose, and physicists Takaaki Kajita and Giorgio Parisi.

Read the full letter and list of signatories below.

We, the undersigned, are scientists from around the world writing in our personal capacity as deeply concerned citizens. We are deeply distressed by the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We find it unbearable that an artificial shortage of food appears to be leading to a famine-like situation. We are shocked by the enforced denial of medical facilities, the absence of even a modicum of education for children, the systematic annihilation of civil infrastructure (including universities), and the apparent general disregard for the rights, well-being, and life of the civilian population of Gaza.

We call upon the Government of Israel to act immediately to end this human-made humanitarian crisis.

We are aware that the current situation is part of a complicated causal web of events. This web includes the brutal attack by Hamas (in October 2023). We condemn this attack and the inhuman conditions under which the hostages are held, and call upon Hamas to immediately release the hostages in its custody. The web of events also include other egregious actions, including the extinguishing of several tens of thousands of innocent lives in Gaza (including, reportedly, almost a thousand infants below the age of one) which we also condemn.

We strongly feel, however, that nothing in this historical record – indeed nothing at all – can justify the horrors currently being visited on a civilian population. The humanitarian emergency demands immediate intervention. As scientists working collectively for humanity, we urgently call upon all governments, and all relevant international institutions around the world, to exert all available means so there is a halt to this tragedy.

Signed,