Overview
- The license revocations took effect on January 1 for 37 NGOs operating in Gaza and parts of the occupied West Bank, with foreign staff required to leave by March 1.
- Israel cites security and transparency grounds under a March 2025 registration system demanding full disclosure of personnel, funding and operations, alleging some staff links to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including claims tied to MSF.
- Médecins Sans Frontières denies employing combatants and warns the decision will have catastrophic effects on care, noting it supports roughly one in five hospitalized patients in Gaza.
- UN agencies, the European Union and a coalition of ten donor countries condemned the suspensions, while UN human rights chief Volker Türk labeled the move intolerable.
- Israeli authorities say the affected groups represent about 15% of NGOs and a small share of total aid, asserting assistance will continue through UN bodies, donor governments, the private sector and more than 20 registered organizations; separately, the Knesset approved a law enabling cuts of water and electricity to UNRWA properties.