Israel is set to revoke the licences of 37 international humanitarian organisations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in a move critics say is aimed at demonising aid groups assisting Palestinians through unproven allegations of links to Hamas.
The ban, which comes into effect on Thursday, also targets organisations such as the Norwegian Refugee Council, CARE International, and the International Rescue Committee.
Israeli authorities said the decision follows new regulations requiring aid agencies to disclose extensive details about their staff and operations.
The move has drawn sharp international criticism.On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of 10 countries, including Canada, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement urging Israel to ensure that international NGOs are able to operate in Gaza in a “sustained and predictable” manner.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said that, as of December 31, 2025, it is still awaiting the renewal of its registration to operate in Gaza and the West Bank under new Israeli requirements, including the submission of detailed staff lists.
The group warned that Gaza’s health system has been “decimated,” with essential infrastructure destroyed and people struggling to meet basic needs, stressing that Palestinians need more services, not fewer.
MSF said that if it and other international NGOs lose access, “hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be cut off from essential care,” noting that the organisation currently supports one in five hospital beds and one in three births in Gaza, and in 2025 alone delivered nearly 800,000 outpatient consultations, treated over 100,000 trauma cases, carried out 22,700 surgeries, assisted more than 10,000 births, and distributed nearly 700 million litres of water.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned that the decision would further undermine humanitarian operations in Gaza.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini called it a “dangerous precedent,” saying attempts to control aid organisations threaten the core humanitarian principles of neutrality, independence, and impartiality. He added that the decision reflects a broader pattern of disregard for international humanitarian law and increasing obstacles to aid delivery.
In 2025, Israel had already approved multiple measures to restrict and effectively ban UNRWA, a key provider of aid and essential services in Gaza.
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the UN’s primary global humanitarian coordination forum bringing together UN and non-UN partners, has urged Israeli authorities to reconsider plans to ban several international NGOs operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
In a statement, the IASC said international NGOs are central to humanitarian operations in the OPT, collectively delivering nearly $1 billion in assistance each year. It warned that in Gaza, where winter conditions are compounding suffering, acute food insecurity remains widespread, and the need for life-saving aid is critical, banning NGOs risks undermining the fragile progress made during the ceasefire.
“The consequences for vulnerable children, women and men will be devastating,” the committee said, stressing that humanitarian access is not optional, conditional, or political, but a legal obligation under international humanitarian law and essential for the protection of human rights.
Refugees International, called the move baseless and warned that it will “cost the lives of Palestinians,” particularly as winter deepens suffering among displaced families.
The organisation said the move undermines the ceasefire, restricts life-saving aid, and silences independent humanitarian actors, urging Israel to immediately reverse the decision and allow aid agencies to operate without obstruction.
The Global Sumud Flotilla also condemned the latest move, saying it was the culmination of a multi-year campaign to dismantle Gaza’s humanitarian lifelines.
“This grotesque decision only reinforces why the Global Sumud Flotilla is expanding its Spring 2026 mission: to break the siege, bring international healthcare workers, educators, and other humanitarian aid workers to Gaza, and stand alongside Palestinians as they rebuild their lives under continued assault,” they said.
According to the Gaza Government Media Office, around 500 aid workers and volunteers have been killed during Israel’s two-year war on Gaza, amid a blockade that has contributed to a deadly famine.
Aid groups say Israel has repeatedly restricted the flow of humanitarian assistance and targeted medical staff, aid convoys, UN personnel, and relief facilities.
Critics also argue that the ban violates the ceasefire agreement and US President Donald Trump’s “20-point peace plan,” which states that humanitarian aid should enter Gaza without interference through the UN, the Red Crescent, and other international organisations.
Many of the organisations facing suspension are part of the UN-backed aid distribution system, raising concerns that the decision will further cripple life-saving humanitarian work in Gaza.
The names of organisations restricted from Gaza:
1. Action Against Hunger
2. ActionAid
3. Alianza por la Solidaridad
4. Campaign for the Children of Palestine
5. CARE
6. DanChurchAid
7. Danish Refugee Council
8. Handicap International – Humanity & Inclusion
9. Japan International Volunteer Center
10. Médecins du Monde France
11. Médecins du Monde Switzerland
12. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – Belgium
13. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – France
14. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – Netherlands
15. Medicos del Mundo
16. Mercy Corps
17. MSF Spain
18. Norwegian Refugee Council
19. Oxfam Novib
20. Première Urgence Internationale
21. Terre des hommes Lausanne
22. International Rescue Committee (IRC)
23. WeWorld-GVC
24. World Vision International
25. Relief International
26. Fondazione AVSI
27. Movement for Peace – MPDL
28. American Friends Service Committee
29. Medico International
30. Palestine Solidarity Association in Sweden
31. Defense for Children International
32. Medical Aid for Palestinians (UK)
33. Caritas Internationalis
34. Caritas Jerusalem
35. Near East Council of Churches
36. Oxfam Quebec
37. War Child Holland
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