Israel is to revoke the licences of 37 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, saying they failed to meet requirements under new registration rules.
ActionAid, International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Norwegian Refugee Council are among the aid agencies which will have their licences suspended on 1 January, with their operations to end within 60 days.
Israel said they had, among other things, failed to hand over complete personal details of their staff. The INGOs said that could put them at risk.
The move was condemned by 10 countries, which said the rules would have a severe impact on access to essential services.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland said INGOs were integral to the humanitarian response in Gaza and that any attempt to stem their ability to operate was unacceptable.
Without them, it will be impossible to meet all urgent needs at the scale required, they warned.
The European Union's humanitarian chief, Hadja Lahbib, stated, Israel's plans to block INGOs in Gaza means blocking life-saving aid. International humanitarian law leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need.
The Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, comprising UN agencies and over 200 NGOs, urged the Israeli authorities to reconsider this decision.
Israel's ministry of diaspora affairs, overseeing registration applications, claimed the new measures would not impact the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. They argued that aid continues to be delivered through approved channels.
Despite Israeli claims, humanitarian organisations fear the revocation will effectively block critical services in Gaza, which relies heavily on these INGOs for medical care, nutrition, and shelter.
With the humanitarian situation worsening, aid groups implore Israel to lift these restrictions and facilitate a more significant influx of aid.
