United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners in ten countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, have urged Israel to reverse its decision to ban several well-established international aid organizations from operating in Gaza. Among those affected is Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF), a medical humanitarian group that has provided life-saving care in conflict zones worldwide and has worked in the Palestinian territories since 1989.
Although a ceasefire is currently in place, Gaza’s population continues to suffer the consequences of widespread loss and injury after months of war. The health system has been severely damaged, leaving many clinics destroyed or non-functional. In this context, MSF-run facilities have played a critical role, offering specialized services such as advanced wound care that are no longer widely available elsewhere in Gaza.
At an MSF clinic in Gaza City, medical teams are treating patients with severe and long-term injuries, including children burned in airstrikes and those wounded while searching for food amid extreme shortages. One such patient is eight-year-old Nour Zinou, who is receiving treatment for serious burns sustained months earlier. These cases highlight the scale of trauma and the ongoing need for sustained medical care, particularly for children who may require years of rehabilitation.
MSF estimates that it treated around one million people in Gaza in 2025, roughly half the population. Its work has extended beyond emergency care to include clean water provision, maternity services and physiotherapy. However, Israel’s new regulations, which took effect on 1 January, bar MSF from bringing international staff and aid supplies into Gaza and the occupied West Bank, forcing the organization to rely solely on local staff and placing many services at risk.
Israel has stated that the ban is linked to new security and transparency requirements aimed at preventing armed group infiltration, alleging that some local aid workers have ties to Hamas. MSF has rejected these claims, saying it would never knowingly employ anyone involved in military activities and warning that unsubstantiated accusations endanger humanitarian workers. The organization stresses its neutrality and independence and says it has not been given clear reasons for being halted.
Humanitarian groups have also raised concerns about new requirements to share detailed staff and funding information, warning that such disclosures could put employees at serious risk. Since the start of the war, MSF has lost 15 staff members in Gaza, while the United Nations reports that around 400 aid workers have been killed overall. Several other banned organizations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, have been outspoken critics of Israeli restrictions on aid and have documented conditions on the ground.
Despite the uncertainty, MSF clinics continue to treat patients with complex, life-altering injuries. Medical staff warn that many children and adults will need long-term care that Gaza’s shattered health system cannot provide alone. Aid workers stress that without continued access for international humanitarian organizations, the already dire medical and humanitarian situation in Gaza risks deteriorating even further.
