Israel’s registration measures will impede critical humanitarian action in Gaza

A woman is receiving a vegetable basket distributed by Oxfam and partners in Deir Al Balah in the middle of Gaza. Alef Multimedia/Oxfam

International humanitarian organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory warn that Israel’s recent registration measures threaten to halt INGO operations at a time when civilians face acute and widespread humanitarian need, despite the ceasefire in Gaza.

On 30 December, 37 INGOs received official notification that their registrations would expire on 31 December 2025. This triggers a 60-day period after which INGOs would be required to cease operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

INGOs are integral to the humanitarian response, working in partnership with the United Nations and Palestinian civil society organizations to deliver lifesaving assistance at scale. The United Nations, the Humanitarian Country Team, and donor governments have repeatedly affirmed that INGOs are indispensable to humanitarian and development operations and have urged Israel to reverse course.

Despite the ceasefire, humanitarian needs remain extreme. In Gaza, one in four families survives on just one meal a day. Winter storms have displaced tens of thousands, leaving 1.3 million people in urgent need of shelter.

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INGOs deliver more than half of all food assistance in Gaza, run or support 60 per cent of field hospitals, implement nearly three-quarters of shelter and non-food item activities, and provide all treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition. Their removal would close health facilities, halt food distributions, collapse shelter pipelines, and cut off life-saving care.”

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In the West Bank, ongoing military raids and settler violence continue to drive displacement. Further restrictions on INGOs would sharply reduce the reach and continuity of lifesaving assistance at a critical moment. Recent efforts to assess the impact of deregistering INGOs through selective metrics do not capture how humanitarian assistance is delivered in practice. Humanitarian access must be measured by whether civilians receive the right assistance, in the right place, at the right time.

INGOs operate under strict donor-mandated compliance frameworks, including audits, counterterror financing controls, and due diligence requirements that meet international standards.

More than 500 humanitarian workers have been killed since 7 October 2023. INGOs cannot transfer sensitive personal data to a party to the conflict since this would breach humanitarian principles, duty of care and data protection obligations. False narratives delegitimize humanitarian organizations, endanger staff, and undermine the delivery of assistance.

This is not a technical or administrative matter, but a deliberate policy choice with foreseeable consequences. If registrations are allowed to lapse, the Israeli government will obstruct humanitarian assistance at scale. Humanitarian access is not optional, conditional, or political. It is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law.

This move would also set a dangerous precedent by extending Israeli authority over humanitarian operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, contrary to the internationally recognized legal framework governing the territory and the role of the Palestinian Authority.

An Oxfam staff member preparing food parcels to be distributed in North Gaza.

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We call on the Government of Israel to immediately halt deregistration proceedings and lift measures obstructing humanitarian assistance. We urge donor governments to use all available leverage to secure the suspension and reversal of these actions. Independent, principled humanitarian operations must be protected to ensure civilians can receive the assistance they urgently need.”

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Signatories to the statement: Acs; Action Against Hunger (ACF); Action for Humanity; ActionAid; American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); Amnesty International; AOI - Cooperazione e Solidarietà internazionale - Italia; CADUS e.V.; Campaign for the Children of Palestine (CCP Japan); CARE Canada; CARE International UK; Children are Not Numbers; Churches for Middle East Peace; CISS - Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud; Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu); DanChurchAid; Danish Refugee Council; Diakonia; EducAid; Emergency NGO; Fondation Terre des hommes Lausanne; Glia; HEKS/EPER - Swiss Church Aid; Human Rights Solidarity; Humanity & Inclusion - Handicap International; INTERPAL; Islamic Relief; Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC); Médecins du Monde - Suisse; Médecins du Monde - France; Médecins Sans Frontières; Medical Aid for Palestinians; medico international; Medicos Del Mundo (MDM - Spain); Mennonite Central Committee; Middle East Children's Alliance; NORWAC ( Norwegian aid committee); Norwegian Church Aid; Norwegian People's Aid; Norwegian Refugee Council; Oxfam; Pax Christi USA; Peace Winds Japan; Premiere Urgence Internationale; uakers in Britain; Solidarités International; Terre des hommes Italy; Un Ponte Per; United Against Inhumanity; Vento di Terra ETS; War Child Alliance Foundation; War on Want; WeWorld-GVC

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