Israel has declared it will suspend the operations of dozens of international aid organisations in Gaza within 36 hours, citing their failure to meet stringent new registration requirements. The move comes as foreign ministers from ten nations issued a stark warning about the 'catastrophic' and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the war-ravaged territory.
Major Aid Groups Face Suspension
The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs announced on Tuesday that groups which had not provided detailed personal information about their Palestinian and international staff would have their licences revoked. The list includes prominent global humanitarian agencies such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), ActionAid, and the International Rescue Committee.
Israeli officials stated that approximately 15% of non-governmental organisations working in Gaza had not had their permits renewed. The ministry alleged that an investigation found MSF had employed two individuals with alleged links to Palestinian militant groups, a claim MSF strongly denies, stating it "would never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity."
International Alarm Over 'Appalling' Winter Conditions
The announcement coincided with a joint statement from the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. They expressed "serious concerns" about a "renewed deterioration" in Gaza, exacerbated by fierce winter storms that have destroyed thousands of tents.
"As winter draws in, civilians in Gaza are facing appalling conditions with heavy rainfall and temperatures dropping," the ministers said. They highlighted that 1.3 million people still require urgent shelter, more than half of health facilities are only partially functional, and the collapse of sanitation leaves 740,000 vulnerable to toxic flooding.
The coalition called for the lifting of "unreasonable" Israeli restrictions on dual-use imports and for a significant increase in aid truck flows, stating the current target of 4,200 trucks per week should be "a floor not a ceiling."
Bureaucratic Hurdles and Security Demands
Israeli authorities stated they had given aid groups ten months to comply with the new security and transparency demands. The Ministry said organisations that "refused to submit a list of their Palestinian employees in order to rule out any links to terrorism" had been notified of suspensions effective from 1st January.
NGO officials have previously argued that these requirements conflict with European data protection laws and could endanger their staff. Cogat, the Israeli defence body for Palestinian civilian affairs, claimed the affected organisations had supplied no aid since the October ceasefire and had previously contributed only about 1% of total aid volume, suggesting the ban would not impact overall humanitarian supplies.
Other major charities reportedly affected include Care International, along with divisions of Oxfam and Caritas, all crucial providers of food, healthcare, and other vital services. This follows previous Israeli legislative action against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa.
