Israel bars Doctors Without Borders, 40+ groups from Gaza

On Dec. 30, 2025, Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs announced it will suspend more than 40 humanitarian organizations—including Doctors Without Borders (MSF)—from operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, effective Jan. 1, 2026. The ban prevents these groups from bringing in international staff or aid shipments.

Israel stated the ban resulted from organizations failing to comply with new registration requirements for NGOs in Gaza. These rules required groups to provide full lists of their Palestinian employees' names, details on funding and operations, and included ideological requirements that disqualified groups critical of Israel or supportive of boycotts or international court cases against Israeli leaders.

Doctors Without Borders disputed Israel's claims, stating they received "no updates" about the registration process and that reports suggesting they failed to comply were inaccurate. MSF said the loss of access would be a disaster for Palestinians needing lifesaving healthcare. MSF treated approximately one million people in Gaza in 2025.

Israel specifically accused MSF of failing to clarify the roles of some staff members whom Israel alleged cooperated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad. MSF denies these accusations and maintains it is an independent, neutral medical organization that does not affiliate with militant groups or governments.

The ban forces remaining aid organizations to rely entirely on local staff without the ability to rotate in international personnel. Aid groups warned this severely limits their capacity to deliver medical care, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response in Gaza, where infrastructure has been devastated.

Ten nations issued warnings about renewed "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis in Gaza as the ban took effect amid harsh winter conditions. Relief groups stated that removing these major humanitarian organizations will lead to increased illness, malnutrition, and preventable deaths among Gaza's civilian population.

Aid groups criticized the new requirements as "vague, politicized and impossible to meet," arguing they appeared designed to exclude organizations that documented human rights concerns or advocated for Palestinian rights. The ideological litmus tests required groups to avoid any criticism of Israeli government policies as a condition of operating.