The Humanitarian Country Team, comprising senior UN officials and over 200 local and international aid groups, issued a stark warning on Tuesday, urging the international community to pressure Israeli authorities to reverse measures that are severely restricting humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip. Central to the concern is a new registration system for international non-governmental organisations introduced earlier this year, which aid groups say is vague, politicised, and impossible to comply with without violating humanitarian principles.
Under the current regulations, dozens of organisations face deregistration by the end of December, followed by the forced closure of their operations within weeks. Aid agencies stressed that these organisations are essential to the humanitarian response in Gaza, delivering approximately one billion dollars’ worth of assistance annually, including food, medicine, hygiene supplies, and shelter materials, much of which is now blocked from reaching families in need.
The agencies warned that the loss of international NGOs could not be offset by the UN or local partners, particularly given existing restrictions on the Palestine refugee relief agency, UNRWA, which has already stretched humanitarian capacity to the limit. International NGOs support much of Gaza’s essential infrastructure, including field hospitals, primary health clinics, water and sanitation services, emergency shelter distribution, and treatment for children suffering from severe malnutrition.
If the NGOs are forced to leave, one in three health facilities in Gaza would close almost immediately, depriving tens of thousands of patients of care. Aid leaders noted that they have repeatedly raised these concerns with Israeli authorities, but no adjustments have been made, and the dismantling of NGO operations appears imminent.
The statement concluded by emphasizing that humanitarian access is a legal obligation, not a political choice. Aid agencies urged Israel to allow rapid and unimpeded aid deliveries and to ensure that humanitarian organisations can operate independently and safely. Without swift action, the Humanitarian Country Team warned, the consequences for civilians in Gaza could be catastrophic.
