Israel is blocking aid workers from entering Gaza despite a court ruling that paused a planned ban on dozens of charities, The National has been told.
Surgeons and other medics have been denied entry by Israeli authorities, humanitarian workers said. Many left Gaza expecting 37 groups to end their operations, and Israel has not allowed new staff to replace them.
The ban on the 37 organisations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, was paused by Israel's High Court on Friday. Nonetheless, workers in Gaza described shrinking operations that could lead to job cuts.
“Gaza’s residents are being deprived of medical expertise, particularly surgeons and specialists who carried out life-saving operations throughout the war,” said a department manager at Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gaza.
“People in Gaza depend heavily on humanitarian interventions to sustain their lives,” the manager told The National. “They simply cannot endure any further reduction in supplies or services.”
Gazans are living under a fragile ceasefire that ended two years of war, bombardment and famine caused by the Israeli army. Humanitarian needs remain high.
Israel had told the 37 groups to end their operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank after they failed to comply with changes to their registration. The new rules would have required them to provide lists of their Palestinian staff, raising fears of putting them in danger.
A co-ordinator for Save the Children, who works with its local technical support teams, said the reprieve had prevented a catastrophic disruption to aid, but restrictions remain significant.
Two days before the court froze the ban, most foreign teams left Gaza, and Israeli authorities have not allowed new international specialists to enter.
“Expertise is the most important element in our work, especially in psychological care for children,” the co-ordinator said. “After the war, people in Gaza have experienced enormous trauma, but there are very few local specialists in mental health support.”
Without foreign specialists, the organisation has already had to reduce services in some areas because its current staff cannot meet the overwhelming demand.
“Our organisation has branches and service centres across almost the entire Gaza Strip,” they said. “For many children, these programmes are a lifeline.”
The department manager at MSF said the measures have affected the quality and scale of humanitarian services available in Gaza. Aid deliveries, such as the supply of medicine and nutritional supplements, have also been affected.
MSF provides drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people a day but the programme faces staff shortages and financial restrictions. “International organisations are now the backbone of life in Gaza,” the manager said. “If any one of them stops working, it will have a major impact on people’s lives.”
Job fears
The restrictions are also expected to affect the hundreds of Palestinian employees who work alongside foreign staff. They include medics, technicians, drivers, security guards and cleaners.
“If operations continue to shrink, some contracts may not be renewed, and that will affect entire families already living under extremely difficult circumstances,” the MSF manager said.
One security guard who began working for MSF in Gaza seven months ago said he worries he could soon lose his job. He is stationed at a compound that normally hosts visiting international delegations.
“For the past three weeks there have been no foreign teams in Gaza,” he said. “Israel refuses to allow the rotation of international staff, so we have no work to do.”
The situation has left him anxious about the future. “Every minute I feel afraid for my family,” he said. “Job opportunities are extremely difficult to find in Gaza.”
The guard said managers have already warned their staff that if the restrictions continue, some contracts may not be renewed.
Aid workers say the crisis is unfolding at a time when Gaza’s population is more dependent on humanitarian assistance than ever.
After more than two year of devastating war, much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, and millions of residents rely on international organisations for medical care, food assistance, clean water and psychological support.
“Even with the decision to freeze the ban, the restrictions on staff and supplies are already affecting our ability to operate,” the MSF official said. “For people in Gaza, humanitarian organisations are not just support systems, they are a lifeline.”
