Israel Bans Dozens Of Aid Groups In Gaza

Israel has announced that dozens of aid organisations will no longer be allowed to operate in Gaza, blaming them for not complying with newly introduced registration rules. The ban affects several major international organisations, and the decision is expected to make life even harder for Palestinians already struggling to survive. Israeli authorities said the ban, effective January 1, targets organisations that have not met new requirements to disclose details about their staff, funding, and operations. The groups said forcing them to share full information about their staff could leave aid workers vulnerable and put their safety at serious risk.

Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs said the move was meant to “strengthen and update” the rules governing international NGOs in Palestinian territory. A total of 37 organisations, or divisions of them, are facing suspension or the loss of their licences to operate in Gaza. The list includes aid groups such as ActionAid, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and the International Rescue Committee. These groups provide essential aid in Gaza, offering medical care, food, shelter, clean water, sanitation, education, and mental health support. Doctors Without Borders, a leading medical aid group, is also on the list of banned organisations. Israel claimed that some of its staff had links to Hamas but offered no evidence to back up the allegations.

Israel has repeatedly acted to restrict aid to Palestinians, including a 2024 law that barred the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees from operating in the region. Critics say Israel’s bans and restrictions on UN and international aid groups are part of a wider strategy to make life unbearable for Gaza’s more than two million residents, systematically dismantling the basic services and infrastructure that any functioning society relies on.

Doctors Without Borders warned that Israel’s move would severely disrupt lifesaving care in Gaza, where the group helps run about one in five hospital beds and assists with nearly a third of all births. The group also rejected Israel’s claims about its staff. Ten countries pushed back strongly against the decision, arguing it would disrupt access to basic help in Gaza. In a shared statement, foreign ministers from the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said international aid groups are essential on the ground. They warned that cutting off their work would make it impossible to respond to the humanitarian crisis at the level people urgently need.

Meanwhile, cold, stormy weather is adding to the suffering in Gaza, where people who have already endured years of attacks and displacement are now left exposed, as vital shelter materials and humanitarian aid remain blocked from entering the region.