Israel has been tightening oversight of humanitarian groups in Gaza, warning that dozens of organizations face suspension for failing to submit lists of their Palestinian employees.
Israel has warned it will suspend dozens of humanitarian organizations — including some of the best-known — from operating in the Gaza Strip in 2026.
Israeli officials accused the aid organizations of failing to comply with new registration requirements, including providing details about Palestinian staff.
Some of the 37 NGOs to be hit with the ban are Doctors Without Borders, known by their French acronym MSF, the Norwegian Refugee Council, World Vision International, CARE and Oxfam.
Why does Israel want to stop some aid groups’ work in Gaza?
The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism says the measures are part of an effort to strengthen and update regulations governing international non-governmental organizations working in the occupied Palestinian territory.
According to the ministry, organizations that refused to submit lists of Palestinian employees to rule out alleged links to militant groups were formally notified that their licenses would be revoked as of January 1. They have been ordered to cease all activities by March 1. Officials said the groups were given around 10 months to comply but had failed to do so.
Israel said more than 37 organizations — about 15% of those operating in Gaza — had not met the new rules. Israel has singled out MSF, alleging that it had two employees who were members of Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas, allegations MSF has rejected.
Israeli officials say the regulations aim to prevent the Hamas militant group and other armed groups from infiltrating aid organizations or diverting assistance. Throughout the war in Gaza, Israel has accused Hamas of siphoning aid supplies, a claim the group denies.
Other affected agencies include the Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, and divisions of major charities such as Oxfam and Caritas.
How have aid groups responded to Israel’s request?
Aid organizations have criticized the rules as arbitrary and warned they could severely harm civilians.
MSF, which supports about 20% of the hospital beds and a third of births, said the requirements could leave hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza without life-saving medical care. The charity said it “continues to engage and discuss with Israeli authorities,” and that it has “not yet received a decision on re-registration.”
Some groups said they were not prepared to submit the list of Palestinian staff for fear they’d be targeted by Israel, as well as to comply with data protection laws in Europe.
“It comes from a legal and safety perspective. In Gaza, we saw hundreds of aid workers get killed,” said Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The requirement amounted to “politicizing aid,” according to Bushra Khalidi, policy lead for Oxfam in Jerusalem.
Speaking to DW, Khalidi warned that complying with Israel’s requirement would be considered “a breach of our duty of care to our staff.”
“We could not comply basically with the requirements that force us to hand over sensitive personal data of Palestinian staff and their families, or we couldn’t accept the political and ideological conditions that are unrelated to our humanitarian work imposed by this criteria,” Khalidi said. “Particularly during the last two years, we’ve seen a record number of humanitarian workers killed in Gaza, over 500.”
Khalidi stressed that reputable NGOs such as Oxfam and Save the Children face “robust vetting” to be eligible for funding from countries such as the United States and Canada.
“There’s no evidence in fact that this new registration regime improves security outcomes,” Khalidi said. “From our perspective, what it does do is that it’s politicizing aid, it’s criminalizing humanitarian actors and it’s exposing our local staff, including myself, to serious risk.”
EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib said the Israeli plan “means blocking life-saving aid.”
“The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law can not be implemented in its current form,” Lahbib wrote on X. “All barriers to humanitarian access must be lifted. IHL leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need.”
Edited by: Sean Sinico
DW News
