Aid groups challenge Israeli ban that could starve Gaza, West Bank
Dozens of international humanitarian organizations have petitioned Zionist regime’s top court to block an order that would force at least 37 NGOs to halt humanitarian operations in the besieged Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, and east al-Quds.
The NGOs argued that, as an occupying authority, the Zionist regime “must facilitate relief for civilians under its control” in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
Leading organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE, were notified on December 30, 2025, that their registrations had expired. They were given 60 days to renew by submitting lists of their Palestinian staff.
Failure to comply would force these organizations to suspend operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including east al-Quds, beginning March 1.
The NGOs warned that compliance with the Zionist regime’s order would expose local Palestinian employees to potential retaliation and violate data protection laws.
“Turning humanitarian organizations into an information-gathering arm for a party to the conflict stands in total contradiction to the principle of neutrality,” the petition states.
Since the onset of the Zionist regime’s genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, at least 133 NGO workers have been killed in the besieged Palestinian territories, including 15 MSF staff members.
Filipe Ribeiro, MSF head of mission in the Palestinian territories, noted that the enforcement of the Zionist regime’s ban is already taking effect in practice, with aid supplies blocked and visas denied to foreign staff.
“We haven’t been able to get international staff inside Gaza since the beginning of January. Israeli authorities denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank,” Ribeiro said last week.
The humanitarian organizations said they collectively provide more than half of all food assistance in the besieged Palestinian territories and oversee 60 percent of field hospital operations.
The ruling came as aid agencies struggle to expand relief operations under a fragile cease-fire agreed earlier this month.
Earlier in 2025, the Zionist regime barred the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from operating in the occupied territories. UNRWA is no longer able to coordinate with Israeli authorities even in the occupied West Bank.
In October last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel had an obligation under human rights law to allow essential aid provided by the United Nations and its entities to reach the Gaza Strip.
The court also demanded that Israel “co-operate in good faith” with the UN by providing aid to the region.
The ICJ also found that Zionist regime “has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA employees "are members of Hamas.”