MSF Calls Israeli Ban a 'Grave Blow' to Gaza Aid
Nanaa Abu Jari cooks outside her tent after it was flooded by rainwater in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Asharq Al Awsat
2 January 2026 AD ـ 13 Rajab 1447 AH
International charity Doctors Without Borders Friday condemned a "grave blow to humanitarian aid" after Israel revoked the status it needs to operate in Gaza for refusing to share Palestinian staff lists.
Israel on Thursday confirmed it had banned access to the Gaza Strip to 37 foreign humanitarian organizations for refusing to share lists of their Palestinian employees.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has 1,200 staff members in the Palestinian territories, the majority of them in Gaza, said in a statement that "denying medical assistance to civilians is unacceptable under any circumstances".
The medical organization argued that it had "legitimate concerns" over new Israeli requirements for foreign NGO registration, specifically the disclosing of personal information about Palestinian staff.
According to AFP, it pointed to the fact that 15 MSF staff had been "killed by Israeli forces", and that access to any given territory should not be conditional on staff list disclosure.
"Demanding staff lists as a condition for access to territory is an outrageous overreach," the charity said.
MSF also denounced "the absence of any clarity about how such sensitive data will be used, stored, or shared", charging that Israeli forces "have killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of civilians" in Gaza during the course of the war.
It also charged that Israel had "manufactured shortages of basic necessities by blocking and delaying the entry of essential goods, including medical supplies".
Israel controls and regulates all entry points into Gaza, which is surrounded by a wall that began to be built in 2005.
Felipe Ribero, MSF head of mission in the Palestinian territories, told AFP that all of its operations were still ongoing in Gaza.
"We are supposed to leave under 60 days, but we don't know whether it will be three or 60 days" before Israeli authorities force MSF to leave, he said.
Prominent humanitarian organizations hit by the Israeli ban include the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), World Vision International and Oxfam, according to an Israeli ministry list.
The ban, which came into effect on December 31, 2025 at midnight, has triggered widespread international condemnation.
Israel says the new regulation aims to prevent bodies it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating in the Palestinian territories.
MSF says it currently supports one in five hospital beds in Gaza and assists one in three mothers in the territory, and urged the Israeli authorities to meet to discuss the ban.
MSF denies Israeli allegations against staff
January 2, 2026
January 2, 2026
A view of a damaged building, belonged to medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), following the Israeli attack in al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis, Gaza on February 21, 2024 [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency]
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has rejected Israeli allegations that its staff have links to armed groups describing the claims as unsubstantiated and politically timed to coincide with obstacles placed on the renewal of its registration.
In a statement issued on Thursday, MSF said the accusations are being made publicly without evidence and alongside the introduction of new and unclear registration requirements that threaten its ability to continue operating.
The organisation denied reports that it had failed to comply with registration rules, saying that since July 2025 it has fully engaged with Israeli authorities and provided most of the requested information. It said it continues to pursue dialogue in order to maintain its medical operations and support Gaza’s devastated health system.
MSF warned that such actions place medical personnel at risk and could deprive hundreds of thousands of Palestinians of life-saving healthcare at a time when the health system in the Gaza Strip has largely collapsed.
READ: EU commissioner warns Israel against blocking charities in Gaza
The organisation said it is still awaiting the renewal of its registration to operate in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank until 31 December 2025, under new Israeli requirements that include submitting lists of employees’ names. It added that despite months of communication, it has received no clear criteria or guarantees.
MSF said that on 30 December Israeli authorities publicly accused it of having ties to armed groups, an allegation it categorically denied.
Israel confirmed on Thursday that it intends to enforce a ban on the activities of 37 major international humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza, citing their alleged failure to provide lists of Palestinian employees under new legislation.
The so-called Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said organisations that did not meet what it described as required security and transparency standards would have their licences suspended, a move aid groups warn will further worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
January 2, 2026
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid are passing through the Kissufim Border Crossing and heading towards Gaza under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and reach the Gaza Strip in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on November 12, 2025. [Mohammed Nassar – Anadolu Agency]
Nineteen Israeli human rights groups on Thursday condemned a government decision to cancel the registration of 37 international humanitarian groups operating in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reported.
On Tuesday, the government began sending official notices to dozens of international organizations informing them that their licenses would be cancelled starting from January 2026, and requiring them to end their activities by March of the same year.
“In parallel with, and as part of, Israel’s assault on the people of Gaza, humanitarian access has been severely constrained since October 2023,” the rights groups, including Adalah and B’Tselem, said in a joint statement.
“Essential aid – including food, medicine, shelter, and hygiene items – continues to be delayed or denied,” they added.
READ: Israel denied drinking water to Palestinian detainees as collective punishment: Report
The groups warned that prohibiting aid organizations from operating in Gaza and West Bank “undermines principled humanitarian action, endangers staff and communities, and compromises effective aid delivery.”
They called on the Israeli government to “immediately halt deregistration proceedings, remove barriers to humanitarian and human rights action, and allow international organizations to operate safely and effectively.”
Israel has previously taken similar steps against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). In 2024, the Knesset passed legislation banning the UN agency’s activities in Israel, citing allegations that some UNRWA employees were involved in the 7 October 2023 events, claims the agency has denied. The UN has said UNRWA adheres to strict neutrality standards.
Israeli authorities later escalated measures against the agency, passing a law to cut water and electricity supplies to UNRWA facilities.
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid are passing through the Kissufim Border Crossing and heading towards Gaza under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and reach the Gaza Strip in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on November 12, 2025. [Mohammed Nassar – Anadolu Agency]
Nineteen Israeli human rights groups on Thursday condemned a government decision to cancel the registration of 37 international humanitarian groups operating in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reported.
On Tuesday, the government began sending official notices to dozens of international organizations informing them that their licenses would be cancelled starting from January 2026, and requiring them to end their activities by March of the same year.
“In parallel with, and as part of, Israel’s assault on the people of Gaza, humanitarian access has been severely constrained since October 2023,” the rights groups, including Adalah and B’Tselem, said in a joint statement.
“Essential aid – including food, medicine, shelter, and hygiene items – continues to be delayed or denied,” they added.
READ: Israel denied drinking water to Palestinian detainees as collective punishment: Report
The groups warned that prohibiting aid organizations from operating in Gaza and West Bank “undermines principled humanitarian action, endangers staff and communities, and compromises effective aid delivery.”
They called on the Israeli government to “immediately halt deregistration proceedings, remove barriers to humanitarian and human rights action, and allow international organizations to operate safely and effectively.”
Israel has previously taken similar steps against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). In 2024, the Knesset passed legislation banning the UN agency’s activities in Israel, citing allegations that some UNRWA employees were involved in the 7 October 2023 events, claims the agency has denied. The UN has said UNRWA adheres to strict neutrality standards.
Israeli authorities later escalated measures against the agency, passing a law to cut water and electricity supplies to UNRWA facilities.
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