Alarm Over New Israeli Rules That Could Halt Gaza Aid Operations

Tue Dec 23 2025 10:02:22 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

International NGOs are raising concerns that new registration criteria imposed by Israel could disrupt critical humanitarian efforts in Gaza, risking the lives of many as deadlines approach.

International NGOs are in a race against time as new Israeli rules concerning registration threaten to collapse vital aid operations in Gaza. With a looming deadline, organizations like Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières warn that failure to secure registration could severely affect healthcare and basic services for the population, raising alarms about the humanitarian crisis further worsening.

The UN and other aid agencies fear new Israeli registration rules for dozens of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) risk the collapse of the humanitarian response in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

INGOs not registered by 31 December face closure of their operations in Israel within 60 days, which the agencies say could severely disrupt healthcare and other life-saving services in Gaza.

Save the Children said its application had not been approved and it was 'pursuing all available avenues to have this decision reconsidered'.

Israel's ministry of diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism said the departure of 'rogue organisations' would not affect the delivery of aid.

Fourteen out of the approximately 100 applications have so far been rejected, 21 have been approved, and those remaining are still undergoing review, according to the ministry. The registration system includes several grounds for rejection, including denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

According to the Humanitarian Country Team, INGOs currently run or support the majority of Gaza's field hospitals and health services; if forced to stop operations, one in three health facilities would close. The potential consequences could further jeopardize the fragile humanitarian situation during winter.

Save the Children confirmed that it was pursuing all available avenues, including filing a petition with Israeli courts. MSF emphasized that losing access would be a disaster for Palestinians, calling for assurance that humanitarian organizations can continue their independent response in Gaza.