International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has urged Israel to allow it to continue operating in Gaza, after it announced a ban on more than 37 NGOs from working in the strip under draconian new registration rules.
The regulations also disqualify organisations that have called for boycotts against Israel, denied the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that led to the war, or expressed support for any of the international court cases against Israeli soldiers or leaders.
As part of the new process, registrants must submit a list of their employees, including Palestinians working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, to Israel's Ministry of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism. This contravenes with European privacy laws.
Many NGOs have chosen not to send this list for security purposes.
On Wednesday, MSF emergency co-ordinator Claire San Filippo said the group is still waiting for the renewal of its registration under Israel's new requirements “including staff lists”.
Earlier this week, Israel accused MSF of having two employees who were members of Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas. MSF has denied the claims.
“MSF takes such accusations extremely seriously and would never knowingly employ anyone engaged in military activity. Unsubstantiated public claims put humanitarian staff at risk and undermine life-saving medical work,” it said.
Gaza's healthcare system has been destroyed and by the time a ceasefire was reached in October, it had no functioning hospitals despite more than 171,000 injuries.
Aid has also not entered the strip in accordance to the ceasefire agreement which stipulates a minimum of 600 lorries a day.
“People need more services, not less,” Ms Filippo said, adding that the organisation currently supports one in five hospital beds and one in three births in Gaza.
“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 last month. The IPC global hunger monitor said on December 19 that more than 100,000 young children would likely suffer acute malnutrition over the next year.
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 where 90 per cent of the population had been displaced since the start of the war in October 2023.
