Israel has announced it will ban 37 international nongovernmental organisations from operating in Gaza after they failed to meet newly imposed security and transparency requirements, a move the United Nations and humanitarian groups warn will worsen the already severe humanitarian crisis in the territory.
Gaza
In a statement on Thursday, January 1, the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said the organisations did not comply with a deadline to disclose full details of their Palestinian staff and other operational information.
“Organisations that have failed to meet required security and transparency standards will have their licenses suspended,” the ministry said, adding that enforcement action would follow.
Under the decision, the affected NGOs are required to cease operations by March 1, 2026. The ministry said the groups were formally notified that their licences would be revoked from January 1, 2026, after a ten month compliance window expired on Wednesday.
Israel said the regulations are intended to prevent organisations it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating in the Palestinian territories.
“The primary failure identified was the refusal to provide complete and verifiable information regarding their employees, a critical requirement designed to prevent the infiltration of terrorist operatives into humanitarian structures,” the ministry said.
Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli defended the move, saying, “The message is clear: humanitarian assistance is welcome — the exploitation of humanitarian frameworks for terrorism is not.”
Several prominent humanitarian organisations are among those affected, including Doctors Without Borders, World Vision International, and Oxfam.
Israel accused Doctors Without Borders of employing two individuals allegedly linked to Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas. MSF rejected the claim, saying earlier this week that the demand to hand over staff lists “may be in violation of Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law” and stressing that it “would never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity.”
The decision has drawn strong backlash from civil society groups and international officials. On Thursday, 18 Israel based left wing NGOs condemned the ban, saying the new framework “violates core humanitarian principles of independence and neutrality.”
“This weaponisation of bureaucracy institutionalises barriers to aid and forces vital organisations to suspend operations,” they said in a joint statement.
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk described the decision as “outrageous,” warning that it would deepen civilian suffering in Gaza. “Such arbitrary suspensions make an already intolerable situation even worse for the people of Gaza,” he said.
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, also warned that the move sets a “dangerous precedent.”
“Failing to push back against attempts to control the work of aid organisations will further undermine the basic humanitarian principles of neutrality, independence, impartiality and humanity underpinning aid work across the world,” he said on X.
Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of 10 countries, including France and the United Kingdom, urged Israel to guarantee access for humanitarian aid in Gaza, describing conditions in the territory as “catastrophic.”
A fragile ceasefire has been in place since October following Israel’s war against Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli territory. Despite the pause in fighting, humanitarian conditions remain dire.
According to UN data, nearly 80 percent of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged, and about 1.5 million of the enclave’s more than two million residents have been displaced, said Amjad Al-Shawa.
