Israel announces Gaza ban on aid groups who fail to accept anti-Hamas requirements

The Israeli government has announced that dozens of aid groups will be banned from operating in Gaza, accusing them of failing to comply with rules designed to prevent local Hamas infiltration of their organisations.

Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said that 37 groups had failed to adhere to the rules, which include a requirement for the names of all their workers to be registered. Other elements of the new regulatory framework require organisations working in Gaza to have refrained from denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, denying the Holocaust or the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, supporting an armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or terrorist organisation, promoting BDS or other “delegitimisation campaigns” against Israel, or supporting the prosecution of Israeli security forces in foreign or international courts. Organisations facing a ban, which will require them to end their work in the Strip within the next 60 days, include Medecin Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders and ActionAid.

A joint statement from the foreign ministers of 10 countries, including the UK, condemned the move, describing how “many established international NGO partners are at risk of being deregistered because of the Government of Israel’s restrictive new requirements. Deregistration could result in the forced closure of INGO operations within 60 days in Gaza and the West Bank. This would have a severe impact on access to essential services including healthcare.”

The statement went on to claim that “One in 3 healthcare facilities in Gaza will close if INGOs operations are stopped. INGOs are integral to the humanitarian response and – working with the UN and Palestinian organisations – collectively deliver approximately $1 billion in aid across Palestine each year. Any attempt to stem their ability to operate is unacceptable. Without them, it will be impossible to meet all urgent needs at the scale required.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded robustly, identifying the “joint statement issued by the group of countries led by the UK” as “false but unsurprising. It reflects a recurring pattern of detached criticism and one-sided demands on Israel, while deliberately ignoring the essential requirement of disarming Hamas – a prerequisite for the security of Israel and the region.

“The statement blatantly ignores the significant improvement in the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire came into effect, an improvement achieved through Israel’s extensive efforts, together with the United States, and despite Hamas’s relentless attempts to divert humanitarian aid for terrorist purposes at the expense of the civilian population.”

Israel’s COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) went further, stating that “it should be clarified that the organizations that received notice regarding the suspension of their activities in the Gaza Strip did not bring aid into Gaza throughout the current ceasefire, and even in the past their combined contribution amounted to only about 1% of the total aid volume. Accordingly, the implementation of the government decision will not result in any future harm to the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.”

COGAT went on to emphasise that “the registration process is intended to prevent the exploitation of aid by Hamas, which in the past operated under the cover of certain international aid organisations, knowingly or unknowingly. This phenomenon has been proven many times and included diversion of aid, the use of local employees for terrorist purposes, and the transfer of funds from terror-linked sources. The refusal of organizations to operate transparently and to cooperate with the required checks is not technical or incidental, but rather raises genuine concern regarding the nature of their activities and the entities with which they operate.”

It encouraged organisations facing bans to “instead of launching false campaigns and attempting to intimidate the international arena regarding the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip… complete the registration process, operate transparently, and ensure that aid reaches the civilian population and not Hamas.”