Israel on Tuesday said it will suspend over two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, for failing to meet its new rules to vet international organizations working in Gaza. The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said the organizations that will be banned on Jan. 1 did not meet new requirements for sharing staff, funding, and operations information. It accused Doctors Without Borders, one of the largest health organizations operating in Gaza, of failing to clarify the roles of some staff that Israel accused of cooperation with Hamas and other militant groups, reports the AP.
International organizations have said Israel's rules are arbitrary and could endanger staff. The ministry said around 25 organizations, or 15%, of the NGOs working in Gaza did not have their permits renewed. Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but said in a statement earlier this month that "Palestinians in Gaza are nearly fully reliant on aid for basic survival. With Gaza's health system already destroyed, the loss of independent and experienced humanitarian organizations' access to respond would be a disaster for Palestinians."
Israel previously accused its staff of involvement in military activities in Gaza in 2024. At the time, the group said it was "deeply concerned by these allegations and is taking them very seriously." The group said it would never knowingly employ people engaged in military activity. Israel and international organizations have been at odds over the amount of aid going into Gaza. Israel claims it is upholding the aid commitments laid out in the latest ceasefire in the two-year war that took effect Oct. 10, but humanitarian organizations dispute Israel's numbers and say more aid is desperately needed in the devastated Palestinian territory of over 2 million people.
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