Israel to suspend operations of dozens of humanitarian groups in Gaza from 2026

Israel on Tuesday said it will suspend over two dozen humanitarian organisations, including Doctors Without Borders, for failing to meet its new rules to vet international organisations working in Gaza.

The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said the organisations that will be banned on1 January did not meet new requirements for sharing staff, funding and operations information.

It accused Doctors Without Borders, one of the largest health organisations operating in Gaza, of failing to clarify the roles of some staff that Israel accused of cooperation with Hamas and other militant groups.

International organisations have said Israel’s rules are arbitrary and could endanger staff. The ministry said around 25 organisations, or 15 per cent, 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. 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 organisations 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 on 10 October, but humanitarian organisations dispute Israel’s numbers and say more aid is desperately needed in the devastated Palestinian territory of over two million people.