Israel announced Tuesday it will halt operations of international aid organizations failing to renew registration under new restrictions effective Thursday. Requirements demand personal details of all staff members working in Gaza. Groups like Doctors Without Borders (MSF) refused, citing severe safety risks for employees facing harassment, detention, and attacks.
COGAT, Israel’s aid coordination body, stated MSF declined to provide employee lists to the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. Israel notified groups in March, with non-compliant authorizations ending January 1 and full withdrawal by March. The policy targets preventing Hamas’ exploitation of aid, though a US government review found no evidence of widespread theft.
Aid agencies, including over 40 organizations like Oxfam, condemned the rules as vague, politicized, and violating humanitarian principles. “Removing these organizations will deepen exposure, illness, and deaths,” Refugees International warned.
Harsh winter exacerbates crisis
Gaza faces devastating winter conditions with heavy rains flooding tents and winds destroying shelters, killing at least 20 in building collapses per Hamas-run Government Media Office. Temperatures plunge, worsening dire living amid ruins.
Foreign ministers from Canada, the UK, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland issued a joint statement Tuesday, decrying “renewed deterioration.” Over 1.3 million need urgent shelter; 740,000 risk toxic flooding from sanitation collapse; half of health facilities are partially operational due to supply shortages. Civil defense reported two more deaths Sunday, including a 7-year-old, from a weather-related wall collapse.
Ministers urged Israel to open crossings, boost aid flows, and allow UN/NGO operations unimpeded.
Aid blockages persist post-ceasefire
Despite the ceasefire, groups report arbitrary rejections of urgent shipments – water, food, tents, medical supplies – claiming organizations unauthorized. COGAT insists 4,200 trucks enter weekly via registered entities, denying impact on aid volume.
MSF, serving nearly 500,000 through health support, called losing access a “disaster.” Oxfam highlighted staff/family data demands in a deadly context for aid workers.
Netanyahu-Trump talks on disarmament
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, during a US visit, met President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, affirming alignment. In a Fox News interview, Netanyahu tied Gaza’s future government to Hamas disarmament: “No one’s coming if Hamas stays armed.” Trump expressed understanding of Israel’s Gaza strikes.
Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the ministers’ statement as one-sided, ignoring Hamas disarmament and crediting Israel-US for post-ceasefire improvements. Hamas spokesperson countered: “We defend ourselves and won’t disarm while occupation remains.”
Source: CNN
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