Israel to block dozens of aid groups working in war-ravaged Gaza | Human Rights News

Israel announced it would suspend more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, for failing to comply with new rules for aid groups working in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

Organizations facing bans starting Thursday do not meet new requirements to share information about their personnel, funding and operations, Israeli authorities said.

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Other major organizations affected include the Norwegian Refugee Council, CARE International, the International Rescue Committee and divisions of major charities such as Oxfam and Caritas.

Israel has accused Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, of failing to clarify the roles of some of its staff, alleging they had cooperated with Hamas.

“The message is clear: humanitarian aid is welcome. The exploitation of humanitarian settings for terrorist purposes is not,” said Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli.

MSF – one of the largest medical groups operating in Gaza, where the health sector has been targeted and largely destroyed – said Israel’s decision will have a catastrophic impact on its work in the enclave, where the organization provides around 20 percent of hospital beds and a third of births. The organization also denied Israel’s accusations regarding its staff.

“MSF will never knowingly employ people engaged in military activities,” the statement said.

International organizations have said Israeli rules are arbitrary. Israel said 37 groups working in Gaza had not had their permits renewed.

“Appalling conditions”

Humanitarian organizations provide a variety of social services, including food distribution, health care, mental health and disability services, and education.

Amjad Shawa, of the Palestinian NGO Network, said Israel’s decision is part of its ongoing efforts “to worsen the humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

“The limitations on humanitarian operations in Gaza are aimed at continuing their plan to drive out the Palestinians and deport Gaza. This is one of the things Israel continues to do,” Shawa told Al Jazeera.

Israel’s decision comes as at least ten countries have expressed “serious concerns” about a “further deterioration of the humanitarian situation” in Gaza, calling it “catastrophic.”

“As winter approaches, civilians in Gaza face appalling conditions, with heavy rains and falling temperatures,” Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said in a joint statement.

“1.3 million people still urgently need shelter. More than half of health facilities are only partially functional and face shortages of essential medical equipment and supplies. The total collapse of health infrastructure has left 740,000 people vulnerable to toxic flooding.”

The countries urged Israel to ensure international NGOs can operate in Gaza in a “sustainable and predictable” manner and called for the opening of land crossings to boost the flow of humanitarian aid.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the joint statement “untrue but unsurprising” and “part of a recurring pattern of detached criticism and unilateral demands of Israel while deliberately ignoring the core demand for Hamas’ disarmament.”

“The needs in Gaza are enormous”

Four months ago, more than 100 humanitarian groups accused Israel of obstructing life-saving aid is blocked from entering Gaza and asked him to end his “militarization of aid” as he refused to allow aid trucks into the battered Gaza Strip.

More than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. Hundreds of them have died of severe malnutrition and thousands more of preventable diseases due to a lack of medical supplies.

Israel says it is honoring aid commitments set out in the latest ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, but humanitarian groups dispute the figures given by Israel and say much more aid is desperately needed in the devastated enclave of more than two million Palestinians.

Israel changed its registration process for humanitarian groups in March, which included requiring them to submit a list of personnel, including Palestinians in Gaza.

Some aid groups said they had not submitted a list of Palestinian employees out of fear that those employees would be targeted by Israel.

“This comes from a legal and security point of view. In Gaza we saw hundreds of aid workers being killed,” said Shaina Low, communications advisor at the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Desperately needed lifelines

The decision not to renew the humanitarian groups’ licenses means their offices in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem will close and the organizations will not be able to send international staff or aid to Gaza.

“Despite the ceasefire, the needs in Gaza are enormous, yet we and dozens of other organizations are and will continue to be prevented from providing essential life-saving assistance,” Low said. “Not being able to send staff to Gaza means the entire workload falls on our exhausted local staff. »

Israel’s decision means that humanitarian groups will have their licenses revoked on Thursday and, if located in Israel, will have to leave by March 1, according to the ministry.

This is not the first time that Israel has attempted to repress international humanitarian organizations. Throughout the war, he accused the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, of being infiltrated by Hamas and Hamas of using UNRWA facilities and accepting its aid. The UN denied this.

In October, the International Court of Justice issued a decision advisory opinion saying Israel must support UN relief efforts in Gaza, including those led by UNRWA.

The court ruled that Israel’s allegations against UNRWA – including its complicity in the attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023 – were unfounded.

The court also said that Israel, as the occupying power, must ensure that the “basic needs” of the Palestinian population in Gaza are met, “including essential supplies for survival,” such as food, water, shelter, fuel and medicine.

A number of countries cut funding to UNRWA after Israel’s accusations, putting at risk one of Gaza’s most desperately needed lifelines.