Humanitarian
Doctors Without Borders Misses Registration Deadline, Will Exit Gaza
Israeli authorities say the organization did not complete a mandatory registration process and refused to provide a list of its employees to the government, a step required under regulations. The rules are intended to prevent Hamas and other groups from exploiting international aid frameworks.
The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders is warning that it may soon be barred from operating in the Gaza Strip after failing to meet an Israeli government deadline to comply with new registration requirements for humanitarian organizations.
Israeli authorities say the organization did not complete a mandatory registration process and refused to provide a list of its employees to the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, a step required under regulations introduced earlier this year. The rules, according to Israel, are intended to prevent Hamas and other armed groups from exploiting international aid frameworks.
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said deregistration would have severe consequences for civilians in Gaza, arguing that its removal would cut off medical care for hundreds of thousands of people at a time when needs remain acute following two years of war.
Israeli officials pushed back on those claims, disputing the scale of MSF’s role in Gaza’s health system. In a statement, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said MSF operates five primary care clinics out of roughly 220 medical points in the territory, and two field hospitals out of 15 established during the war. The statement added that most medical activity in Gaza is conducted by government hospitals and other international organizations that have complied with the new rules.
The Israeli government also said MSF has fewer than 30 international staff members in Gaza and that its aid deliveries represent a small fraction of the total humanitarian assistance entering the territory. Officials stressed that medical equipment, medicines and aid trucks continue to enter Gaza through approved channels and registered organizations.
The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs has claimed that individuals affiliated with MSF have ties to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, allegations the organization has firmly rejected. MSF said it would never knowingly employ anyone involved in military activity and described the accusations as unsubstantiated.
Other aid groups, including Oxfam and the Norwegian Refugee Council, have also warned they may face deregistration if they fail to meet the same requirements. Several organizations have raised concerns about sharing staff details, citing security risks and past attacks on humanitarian workers in Gaza.
Israel says more than 20 international organizations have successfully re-registered and that aid flows will continue, insisting that humanitarian assistance remains welcome as long as it is not exploited for militant activity.