Israel says it has suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organisations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE, from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules.
Israel says the rules are aimed at preventing Hamas and other militant groups from infiltrating the aid organisations. But the organisations say the rules are arbitrary and warned that the new ban would harm a civilian population desperately in need of humanitarian aid.
Israel has claimed throughout the war that Hamas was siphoning off aid supplies — a charge the militants deny. Early this year, Israel announced it would require aid organisations to register the names of its workers and provide details about funding and operations in order to continue working in Gaza.
The new regulations included ideological requirements — including disqualifying organisations that have called for boycotts against Israel, denied the October 7 attack or expressed support for any of the international court cases against Israeli soldiers or leaders.
Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said more than 30 groups — about 15 per cent of the organisations operating in Gaza — had failed to comply and that their operations would be suspended. It also said that Doctors Without Borders, one of the biggest and best-known groups in Gaza, had failed to respond to Israeli claims that some of its workers were affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
"The message is clear: humanitarian assistance is welcome — the exploitation of humanitarian frameworks for terrorism is not," diaspora affairs minister Amichai Chikli said.
Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, said Israel's decision would have a catastrophic impact on their work in Gaza, where they support around 20 per cent of the hospital beds and a third of births. The organisation also denied Israel's accusations about their staff.
"MSF would never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity," it said.
While Israel claimed the decision would have limited impact on the ground, the affected organisations said the timing — less than three months into a fragile ceasefire — was devastating.
"Despite the ceasefire, the needs in Gaza are enormous and yet we and dozens of other organisations are and will continue to be blocked from bringing in essential life-saving assistance," said Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has also been suspended.
"Not being able to send staff into Gaza means all of the workload falls on our exhausted local staff," Low said.
Some aid groups say they didn't submit the list of Palestinian staff, as Israel demanded, for fear they'd be targeted by Israel, and because of data protection laws in Europe.
"It comes from a legal and safety perspective. In Gaza, we saw hundreds of aid workers get killed," Low explained.
The decision not to renew aid groups' licences means offices in Israel and East Jerusalem will close, and organisations won't be able to send international staff or aid into Gaza.
According to the ministry, the decision means the aid groups will have their licence revoked on 1 January, and if they are located in Israel, they will need to leave by 1 March. They can appeal the decision.
Countries warn of 'catastrophic' Gaza situation
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has worsened again and is of serious concern, Britain, Canada, France and others said in a joint statement on Wednesday AEDT that also called on Israel to take urgent action.
The statement, published online by the British Foreign Office, said Israel should allow non-governmental organisations to work in Israel in a sustained and predictable way, and ensure the UN could continue its work in the Palestinian enclave.
"(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 Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
It also said Israel should lift what it called "unreasonable restrictions" on certain imports including medical and shelter equipment, and open border crossings to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
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