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Ban could cut hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza off from essential care, Doctors Without Borders warns.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Israel faces mounting global condemnation as a ban on dozens of international aid organisations working to provide life-saving assistance to Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has come into effect.<\/p>\n On Thursday, a group of 17 human rights and advocacy organisations in Israel condemned the prohibition, saying it \u201cundermines principled humanitarian action, endangers staff and communities, and compromises effective aid delivery\u201d.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n \u201cIsrael, as the occupying power, has an obligation to ensure adequate supplies to Palestinian civilians. Not only is it failing to fulfil that obligation, but it is also preventing others from filling the gap,\u201d the groups said.<\/p>\n Israel has revoked the operating licences of 37 aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, and the Norwegian Refugee Council, for failing to comply with new government regulations.<\/p>\n The new rules require international NGOs working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to provide detailed information on staff members, as well as their funding and operations.<\/p>\n Israel has defended the move by accusing international organisations that work in Gaza of having links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad \u2013 without providing any evidence.<\/p>\n But experts say the requirements contravene humanitarian principles and follow a longstanding Israeli government campaign to vilify and ultimately impede the work of aid groups providing assistance to Palestinians.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new registration framework violates core humanitarian principles of independence and neutrality,\u201d the Israel-based rights groups, including B\u2019Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, said in Thursday\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n \u201cConditioning aid on political alignment, penalizing support for legal accountability, and requiring the disclosure of sensitive personal data of Palestinian staff and their families all constitute a breach of duty of care and expose workers to surveillance and harm.\u201d<\/p>\n The ban comes as Israel has waged a genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, imposing restrictions on food, medicine and other humanitarian aid deliveries to the coastal territory.<\/p>\n Israeli violence has also soared in the occupied West Bank, with the military forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes in what Human Rights Watch has described as war crimes and crimes against humanity.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
\u2018Pattern of unlawful restrictions\u2019<\/h2>\n