A coalition of 53 international non-governmental organizations operating in occupied Palestinian territories has issued an urgent warning that Israel’s recent registration measures could paralyze humanitarian operations during Gaza’s most severe crisis. The organizations, including prominent groups like Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, and Oxfam, revealed that 37 NGOs received official notifications on December 30th indicating their registrations would expire immediately, triggering a two-month countdown to operational cessation across Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs justified the licensing suspensions by citing failures to meet “security and transparency requirements,” specifically mentioning organizations that declined to provide lists of Palestinian employees for terrorism screening. The NGOs collectively challenged this rationale, emphasizing their existing compliance with rigorous international standards including donor-mandated audits, counterterror financing controls, and due diligence protocols.
The humanitarian groups articulated profound ethical concerns about transferring sensitive employee data to conflict parties, noting such actions would violate fundamental humanitarian principles, duty of care obligations, and data protection standards. They highlighted the extreme risks facing aid workers, with over 500 humanitarian personnel killed since October 2023.
This regulatory confrontation occurs amid deteriorating environmental conditions in Gaza, where heavy rains and powerful winds have flooded and destroyed thousands of tents, exacerbating the already catastrophic living conditions. The Shelter Cluster reports more than 42,000 tents and makeshift shelters damaged between December 10-17 alone, affecting approximately 250,000 residents. Tragically, at least three children have died from exposure to cold weather since December, with 17 additional fatalities resulting from storm-related structural collapses.
Concurrently, eight Muslim-majority nations—Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar, and Egypt—issued a joint statement expressing deep concern about the compounded humanitarian crisis. Their foreign ministers criticized the slow pace of essential material entry into Gaza and demanded Israel ensure unimpeded operation of UN agencies and international NGOs. The ministers urged the international community to pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift constraints on aid distribution and open the Rafah Crossing for bidirectional access.