Israel to Bar Aid Groups From Gaza, West Bank Amid Humanitarian Crisis
By [Your Name], International Editor
JERUSALEM – Israeli authorities plan to bar 37 international non-governmental organizations from operating in Gaza and the West Bank starting March 1, 2026, a move Human Rights Watch warns will cripple already strained humanitarian efforts. The decision stems from the organizations’ refusal to provide the government with lists of their staff and their personal data, a requirement the groups say violates principles of neutrality and independence.
The move comes despite a ceasefire agreement reached in October, and ongoing restrictions on aid entering Gaza, contributing to shortages of essential medicines, reconstruction equipment, food, and water.
“Israel’s politicization of registration requirements for aid groups hamstrings their lifesaving activities while Israeli authorities continue to impose a crippling, unlawful blockade on Gaza,” said Michelle Randhawa, senior refugee and migrant rights officer at Human Rights Watch. “Israel should rescind the registration requirements and stop interfering with organizations trying to respond to the devastating humanitarian crises it has created in Gaza and the West Bank.”
International aid groups have long been vital in providing assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, operating under considerable duress. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the expulsion of these groups could lead to the immediate closure of one in three health facilities in Gaza. Approximately 20,000 patients requiring monthly specialized care would lose access, and conditions related to waterborne diseases and sanitation would worsen.
The new regulations, formalized in Government Resolution No. 2542 in December 2024, require all international organizations providing aid to “Palestinian residents” to register with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. The law grants the Israeli government broad authority to deny or cancel registration based on perceived “public safety or state security” risks. This requirement does not apply to organizations serving “Israeli citizens or residents, including residents of East Jerusalem.”
Organizations like Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Save the Children, and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) are among those affected. Oxfam stated they would not share sensitive personal data with a party to the conflict, citing breaches of humanitarian principles and data protection obligations.
“We will not transfer sensitive personal data to a party to the conflict since this would breach humanitarian principles, duty of care, and data protection obligations,” an Oxfam spokesperson told Al Jazeera in January.
The decision follows Israel’s earlier ban on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which significantly hampered its ability to provide assistance. In October 2025, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating Israel’s allegations against UNRWA lacked foundation and that obstructing the agency’s work contradicted international law.
The situation is further compounded by ongoing violence and destruction in Gaza. As of October 2025, the UN Satellite Center reported that approximately 81 percent of all structures in Gaza had been damaged. All 36 hospitals and the majority of primary health care centers have been damaged or destroyed.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, roughly 77 percent of Gaza’s population – about 1.6 million people – faced crisis-level hunger or worse between mid-October and the end of November.
In the West Bank, settler violence is increasing, illegal settlements are expanding, and forced displacement campaigns are ongoing. Israeli authorities forcibly displaced 32,000 people from three West Bank refugee camps in January and February 2025, actions Human Rights Watch has described as potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Randhawa emphasized the broader implications of the decision, stating, “Making the distribution of humanitarian aid to Palestinians a national security concern is yet another ‘assault on dignity’ of Palestinians and part of a larger pattern of debilitating Palestinian civil society and the international presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
