Israel said it will suspend permits for more than three dozen aid organisations for allegedly failing to meet new requirements for operating in war-devastated Gaza, a move likely to worsen already dire conditions for Palestinians in the enclave.<\/p>\n
Organisations facing bans as of January 1, 2026 have failed to meet new requirements for sharing detailed information about their staff, funding and operations, Israeli authorities said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said that while humanitarian assistance was welcome, \u201cexploitation of humanitarian frameworks for terrorism\u201d was not.<\/p>\n The decision comes as a coalition of foreign ministers from countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan and the Nordic states urged Israel to ensure nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) can operate \u201csustained and predictable\u201d aid deliveries, while expressing serious concerns about the humanitarian situation in the Strip.<\/p>\n So, why is Israel suspending these aid groups, and how will it affect Palestinians in Gaza?<\/p>\n The Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said the measure was part of Israel\u2019s decision to \u201cstrengthen and update\u201d the rules overseeing the work of international NGOs in the war-torn Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n \u201cHumanitarian organisations that fail to meet security and transparency requirements will have their licences suspended,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n The ministry added that groups which had \u201cfailed to cooperate and refused to submit a list of their Palestinian employees in order to rule out any links to terrorism\u201d had been formally notified that their licences would be revoked from January 1.<\/p>\n The aid groups were given 10 months to provide the requested information but \u201cfailed to comply with the requirements\u201d, it claimed.<\/p>\n Among the banned organisations is medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, which the ministry accused of employing two individuals with alleged links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, respectively, without providing any evidence for its claims.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite repeated requests, the organisation failed to fully disclose the identities and roles of these individuals,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n In a comment to the AFP news agency, MSF said it \u201cwould never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity\u201d as they would \u201cpose a danger to our staff and our patients\u201d.<\/p>\n The charity further stated that it \u201ccontinues to engage and discuss with Israeli authorities\u201d, and that it has \u201cnot yet received a decision on re-registration\u201d.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, more than 100 aid organisations accused Israel of blocking life-saving assistance from reaching Gaza and urged it to end its \u201cweaponisation of aid\u201d after it refused to allow aid trucks into the devastated territory.<\/p>\n The 37 organisations or their divisions facing suspension or loss of licences to operate in Gaza include several major international aid agencies:<\/p>\n These organisations deliver a range of services including healthcare, food distribution, shelter, water and sanitation, education and psychological support.<\/p>\n This is not the first time that Israel has taken steps to suspend or ban the operations of international humanitarian agencies providing support to Palestinians.<\/p>\n In 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating within Israel, citing allegations that some of its locally engaged staff had participated in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n UNRWA \u2013 the principal provider of aid, education, health and social services to Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and neighbouring countries for decades \u2013 strongly denied these allegations. Since Israel controls access to Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the ban crushed UNRWA\u2019s operations in the Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n In October, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel\u2019s allegations against UNRWA were unsubstantiated.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Israel\u2019s claims prompted the United States, historically UNRWA\u2019s largest donor, to end funding. Other Western nations also suspended funding to the organisation, but many have since reinstated it.<\/p>\n The bans and restrictions on international and UN aid agencies are pillars of what Israel\u2019s critics say are broader efforts by the country to make life in Gaza next to impossible for the Palestinian territory\u2019s more than two million people, by destroying all elements of what any functional society needs.<\/p>\n For nearly two decades, Israel\u2019s blockade of Gaza has stifled the entry and exit of people and materials needed to develop the social and economic infrastructure of the territory. But over the past two years, Israel\u2019s genocidal war has demolished what Palestinians in Gaza painstakingly built, despite the odds.<\/p>\n According to the latest United Nations data, Israel has killed 579 aid workers \u2013 including nearly 400 from UNRWA \u2013 since October 7, 2023. It has killed more than 1,700 health workers, more than 140 civil defence staff and 256 journalists. In all, Israel\u2019s genocidal war has killed more than 71,000 people in Gaza.<\/p>\n More than 80 percent of all buildings have been damaged or destroyed \u2013 including all 18 hospitals in Gaza, which have been hit by Israel; 93 percent of all school buildings and more than 63 university buildings. In excess of 77 percent of Gaza\u2019s population face high levels of food shortages.<\/p>\n The UN has accused Israel of intentionally striking Gaza\u2019s medical infrastructure and killing health workers in an effort to dismantle the enclave\u2019s healthcare system.<\/p>\n Clean water is scarce, with desalination plants and sewage systems badly hit, increasing the risk of disease.<\/p>\n Gaza was already suffering a water crisis before Israel\u2019s two-year genocidal war, with Israeli bombardment and ground operations damaging more than 80 percent of the territory\u2019s water infrastructure.<\/p>\n Against that backdrop of war, some aid organisations have said their Palestinian employees worry that if their details are shared with Israel, they might be targeted.<\/p>\n The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates released a statement in which it \u201cstrongly\u201d condemned Israel\u2019s decision to introduce new registration requirements for relief organisations, warning the measures could halt life-saving aid for hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem,\u201d the ministry said, noting that Palestinians welcome the work carried out by humanitarian groups.<\/p>\n The European Union warned that suspension of aid groups in Gaza would block \u201clife-saving\u201d assistance from reaching the population.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form,\u201d EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib said in a post on X.<\/p>\n \u201cIHL (international humanitarian law) leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n Oxfam told Al Jazeera that it hoped that it would be allowed to continue to work in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are aware of the potential risk of Israel refusing registration to various NGOs including Oxfam,\u201d said Matt Grainger, head of media at Oxfam International. \u201cWe understand that any final decision would only follow a formal letter from Israel and thereafter an appeal process. We remain focused on continuing our humanitarian work in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n MSF told the Reuters news agency that the effect would be devastating if it were barred from operating, as the humanitarian crisis deepens.<\/p>\n \u201cIf MSF is prevented from working in Gaza, it will deprive hundreds of thousands of people from accessing medical care,\u201d the group said, highlighting the stakes for civilians already struggling to access health services.<\/p>\n Shaina Low, spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters that \u201cat a time when needs \u200cin Gaza far exceed the available aid and services, Israel has and will \u2060continue to block life-saving aid from entering.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the British Foreign Office published a statement alongside France, Canada and others saying Israel should allow NGOs to work in Israel in a sustained and \u200dpredictable way.<\/p>\n They said deregistration of the organisations would have a \u201csevere impact on access to essential services, including healthcare\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOne in three healthcare facilities in Gaza will close if INGOs\u2019 operations are stopped,\u201d it added, referring to international NGOs. \u201cAs winter draws in, civilians in Gaza are facing appalling conditions with heavy rainfall and temperatures dropping.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Israel said it will suspend permits for more than three dozen aid organisations for allegedly failing to meet new requirements for operating in war-devastated Gaza, a move likely to worsen already dire conditions for Palestinians in the enclave. Organisations facing bans as of January 1, 2026 have failed to meet new requirements for sharing detailed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explained"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Why is Israel suspending these groups?<\/h2>\n
![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AFP__20251229__898C2Q6__v3__HighRes__PalestinianIsraelConflict-1767087237.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C563&quality=80\")
Which major humanitarian organisations have been barred from Gaza?<\/h2>\n
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Has Israel done this before?<\/h2>\n
What about Gaza\u2019s own civil society?<\/h2>\n
![\"Interactive-Humanitarian](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Interactive-Humanitarian-graphics-all_DEC31_2025-1767183659.png?quality=80\")
![\"INTERACTIVE-GAZA](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Death-toll-tracker-1767024383.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\nHow will it affect Palestinians in Gaza?<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"