Senior western politicians have warned that Israel's move to ban dozens of international NGOs from operating in Gaza is “unacceptable”, amid warnings that Gazans are suffering from malnutrition and exposure to winter weather.
Israel is expected to force the closure within 60 days, starting on Thursday, of 37 international humanitarian organisations such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Caritas and Oxfam. It says that they failed to comply with new regulations that include sharing detailed information about Palestinian staff.
Authorities in Israel say the rules are required to rule out links to terrorism – an accusation that is rejected by NGOs. Similar claims were made to justify the banning of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinians.
“Israel’s plans to block INGOs in Gaza means blocking life-saving aid,” said EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib on X on Wednesday. “The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form. All barriers to humanitarian access must be lifted.”
Ms Lahbib added that international humanitarian law “leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need”.
A ceasefire in Gaza was struck in October but heavy rain and falling temperatures are putting Gazans at risk of death and malnutrition.
The UN on Wednesday said that a sixth child had died in Gaza from floods in December. The IPC global hunger monitor said on December 19 that more than 100,000 young children were likely to suffer acute malnutrition over the next year.
In a statement, the Danish Refugee Council, one of the organisations affected by Israel's move, said it had taken “reasonable steps” to comply and engage with authorities.
It added it had submitted all required documents by June 12, except for sensitive staff data. Reasons included “risks for national staff safety and security, [and] high chances of violations of humanitarian principles”.
The refugee council warned that shelter operations “run the risk of collapse” if international NGOs can no longer operate in Gaza.
Earlier in December, Ms Lahbib complained that Israel had barred her and other EU officials from entering Gaza despite the bloc being the biggest aid donor to Palestinians. She also said Israel failed to provide explanations as to why certain items such as wheelchairs and sleeping bags were not allowed into the enclave.
Her latest comments came one day after foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France and other nations issued a joint statement calling on Israel to lift “unreasonable restrictions on imports considered to have a dual use”.
“[We] express serious concerns about the renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza which remains catastrophic,” read the statement from the foreign ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, as well as Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
The ministers warned that the forced closure of international humanitarian groups would severely hinder access to essential services, including health care, in Gaza, but also in the occupied West Bank. “One in three healthcare facilities in Gaza will close if INGOs operations are stopped,” they said. “Any attempt to stem their ability to operate is unacceptable.”
Western states have issued several similar statements since the start of the Gaza war in 2023 to pressure Israel to allow in more aid. Israel has sometimes responded by allowing a limited number of additional aid lorries into the enclave, but in quantities described as insufficient by the UN.
International humanitarian groups must be able to operate in Gaza in a “sustained and predictable way”, the statement said. It added that the UN and its partners should be able to continue their “vital work.”
Nearly three months since the ceasefire announcement, aid remains largely blocked at the border by Israel.
“We welcome the partial opening of the Allenby [Bridge] crossing, but other corridors for moving goods to Gaza remain closed or severely restricted for humanitarian aid,” the statement said. Allenby is the primary crossing between Jordan and the West Bank.
“We now urge the government of Israel to remove these humanitarian access constraints, and to deliver and honour the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” it added. “This is necessary for an effective humanitarian response, successful recovery and reconstruction and lasting peace and stability.”
