Israel Halts Dozens of Gaza NGOs Over New Registration Rules

The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs has halted the operations of more than three dozen humanitarian organizations in Gaza today, including Doctors Without Borders, after determining they failed to meet new registration requirements for non-governmental organizations operating there.

The ministry said Tuesday that 38 NGOs did not have their permits renewed for the coming year under guidelines posted online in November. The new rules require organizations providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza to submit detailed documentation, including a full list of Palestinian employees. 

Israel said the move is intended to prevent Hamas from exploiting humanitarian aid. “We emphasize that the registration process is intended to prevent the exploitation of aid by Hamas, which in the past operated under the cover of certain international aid organizations, knowingly or unknowingly,” wrote the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, known as COGAT, which oversees humanitarian coordination in Gaza.

According to Israeli officials, the impact on aid deliveries will be minimal. The IDF has approved 24 organizations to continue operating in Gaza, including American and Christian groups as well as international NGOs from Europe and Asia. Israel says these approved organizations account for 99% of the total humanitarian aid volume entering Gaza, while the suspended groups represent about 1%. COGAT said many of the affected NGOs had already faced restrictions during the war and that the decision “will not result in any future harm to the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.”

The suspensions drew public backing from Mike Huckabee, saying “An ongoing scandal ignored by UN & European enablers shows why ⁦Israel⁩ has to decertify some of the NGOs who have terrorists on their payroll,” Huckabee wrote.

Humanitarian organizations and international bodies have sharply criticized Israel’s new registration rules. Aid groups operating in Gaza have said Israel has continued to block humanitarian assistance as storms and flooding have worsened conditions for residents in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Doctors Without Borders warned in a blog post that the new guidelines “risk leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza without lifesaving healthcare in 2026.”

The United Nations Humanitarian Country Team also condemned the requirements, saying aid groups had warned they were “vague, politicised and impossible to meet without breaching humanitarian principles.”

Israeli officials rejected those claims, stressing that the registration rules are technical and security-focused. COGAT said the government decision was designed to safeguard aid channels while ensuring assistance continues to reach civilians in Gaza.