Israel on Tuesday, December 30, said it has suspended Doctors Without Borders, one of the biggest and best-known groups in Gaza, and over two dozen humanitarian organisations from operating in the Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules, a move that aid workers said will harm a civilian population desperately in need of humanitarian aid.
Israel says the rules are aimed at preventing Hamas and other militant groups from infiltrating the aid organisations. But the organisations say the new rules, announced by Israel early this year, are arbitrary.
For instance, the new regulations include ideological requirements — including disqualifying organisations that have called for boycotts against Israel, denied the October 7 attack or expressed support for any of the international court cases against Israeli soldiers or leaders.
Israel has claimed throughout the war that Hamas was siphoning off aid supplies, a charge the UN and aid groups have denied. Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said more than 30 groups — about 15 per cent of the organisations operating in Gaza — had failed to comply and that their operations would be suspended. It also said that Doctors Without Borders had failed to respond to Israeli claims that some of its workers were affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, said Israel’s decision would have a catastrophic impact on their work in Gaza, where they support around 20 per cent of the hospital beds and a third of births. The organisation also denied Israel’s accusations about their staff.
“MSF would never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity,” it said.
Exhausted local staff
While Israel claimed the decision would have a limited impact on the ground, the affected organisations said the timing — less than three months into a fragile ceasefire — was devastating.
“Despite the ceasefire, the needs in Gaza are enormous, and yet dozens of other organisations are and will continue to be blocked from bringing in essential life-saving assistance,” said Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has also been suspended.
“Not being able to send staff into Gaza means all of the workload falls on our exhausted local staff,” Low said.
The new rules require aid organisations to register the names of their workers and provide details about funding and operations in order to continue working in Gaza.
Some aid groups say they didn’t submit the list of Palestinian staff, as Israel demanded, for fear they’d be targeted by Israel, and because of data protection laws in Europe.
“It comes from a legal and safety perspective. In Gaza, we saw hundreds of aid workers get killed,” Low explained.
The decision not to renew aid groups’ licenses means offices in Israel and East Jerusalem will close, and organisations won’t be able to send international staff or aid into Gaza.
Israel says militants exploiting aid groups
According to the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, the decision means the aid groups will have their license revoked on January 1, and if they are located in Israel, they will need to leave by March 1. They can appeal the decision.
The Israeli defense body that oversees humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, said that the organisations on the list contribute less than 1% of the total aid going into the Gaza Strip, and that aid will continue to enter from more than 20 organisations that did receive permits to continue operating.
Not the first crack down
This isn’t the first time Israel has tried to crack down on international humanitarian organisations. Throughout the war, Israel accused the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) of being infiltrated by Hamas, using its facilities and taking aid. The United Nations has denied it. UNRWA, the top UN agency working with Palestinians, has denied knowingly aiding armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected militants.
After months of criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, Israel banned UNRWA from operating on its territory in January. The US, formerly the largest donor to UNRWA, halted funding to the agency in early 2024.
Earlier this month, Israel also barred Save the Children, one of the best-known and oldest humanitarian organisations in Gaza, where it helps 120,000 children, and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) over the new regulations as well. They were given 60 days to withdraw all their international staff from the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Israel.
NGOs say Israel vague over data use
Israel failed to confirm that the data collected from the new regulations wouldn’t be used for military or intelligence purposes, raising serious security concerns, said Athena Rayburn, the executive director of AIDA, an umbrella organisation representing over 100 organisations that operate in the Palestinian territories. She noted that more than 500 aid workers have been killed in Gaza during the war.
“Agreeing for a party to the conflict to vet our staff, especially under the conditions of occupation, is a violation of humanitarian principles, specifically neutrality and independence,” she said.
Rayburn said organisations expressed their concerns and offered alternatives to submitting staff lists, such as third-party vetting, but that Israel refused to engage in any dialogue.
The Gaza Health Ministry said on Monday, December 29, that 71,266 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. The United Nations and independent experts consider the Health Ministry the most reliable source on war casualties.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
