January 11, 2026
Israel bars Doctors Without Borders, 40+ groups from Gaza
International medical staff barred as local teams face supply shortages
🌍Foreign Policy🏥Public Health
Israel announced on December 30, 2025, it will suspend more than 40 international humanitarian organizations—including Doctors Without Borders (MSF)—from operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, effective January 1, 2026. Israel stated the ban resulted from groups failing to meet new security and transparency requirements, including providing full lists of Palestinian employees. Israel accused some local MSF staffers of having ties to Hamas. MSF denies these accusations and states they received no updates about the registration process. The ban prevents organizations from bringing in international staff or aid. MSF treated around one million people in Gaza in 2025. Aid groups criticized the requirements as "vague, politicized and impossible to meet." Ten nations warned about renewed humanitarian suffering as the ban coincided with harsh winter conditions. The U.N. and European Union urged Israel to reverse the decision.
On December 30, 2025, Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs announced it will suspend more than 40 humanitarian organizations—including Doctors Without Borders (MSF)—from operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, effective January 1, 2026. The ban prevents these groups from bringing in international staff or aid shipments.
Israel stated the ban resulted from organizations failing to comply with new registration requirements for NGOs in Gaza. These rules required groups to provide full lists of their Palestinian employees' names, details on funding and operations, and included ideological requirements that disqualified groups critical of Israel or supportive of boycotts or international court cases against Israeli leaders.
Doctors Without Borders disputed Israel's claims, stating they received "no updates" about the registration process and that reports suggesting they failed to comply were inaccurate. MSF said the loss of access would be a disaster for Palestinians needing lifesaving healthcare. MSF treated approximately one million people in Gaza in 2025.
Israel specifically accused MSF of failing to clarify the roles of some staff members whom Israel alleged cooperated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad. MSF denies these accusations and maintains it is an independent, neutral medical organization that does not affiliate with militant groups or governments.
The ban forces remaining aid organizations to rely entirely on local staff without the ability to rotate in international personnel. Aid groups warned this severely limits their capacity to deliver medical care, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response in Gaza, where infrastructure has been devastated.
Ten nations issued warnings about renewed "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis in Gaza as the ban took effect amid harsh winter conditions. Relief groups stated that removing these major humanitarian organizations will lead to increased illness, malnutrition, and preventable deaths among Gaza's civilian population.
Aid groups criticized the new requirements as "vague, politicized and impossible to meet," arguing they appeared designed to exclude organizations that documented human rights concerns or advocated for Palestinian rights. The ideological litmus tests required groups to avoid any criticism of Israeli government policies as a condition of operating.
🌍Foreign Policy🏥Public Health
People, bills, and sources
Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel
Doctors Without Borders staff
International medical humanitarian organization
What You Can Do
1
civic action
Contact Senate Foreign Relations Committee about humanitarian access
Israel's ban on international aid workers prevents independent documentation of conditions in Gaza and limits medical assistance. Demand hearings on U.S. policy requiring Israel to allow humanitarian access as condition of military aid.
Hi, I'm calling about Israel barring international aid workers from Gaza and the West Bank. Israel announced Sunday it won't allow foreign medical staff from Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups to enter. Local staff must rely on dwindling supplies without international expertise. I want the committee to hold hearings on U.S. policy requiring Israel to allow humanitarian access as a condition of military aid. Thank you.
2
civic action
Demand State Department briefing on aid restrictions
The U.S. provides billions in military aid to Israel annually. State Department should brief Congress on whether Israel's aid restrictions violate commitments to allow humanitarian access.
Hi, I'm calling to demand a State Department briefing on Israel's ban on international aid workers. Israel barred foreign staff from Doctors Without Borders and other groups from entering Gaza and the West Bank. The U.S. provides billions in military aid to Israel. I want the State Department to brief Congress on whether these restrictions violate Israeli commitments to allow humanitarian access. Thank you.