withdrew<\/a> the licences of 37 aid groups, including MSF, the Norwegian Refugee Council and International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, saying they failed to adhere to the new \u201csecurity and transparency standards\u201d.<\/p>\nThe measure could exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation for people in war-shattered Gaza, as they endure continued attacks.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you need to know:<\/p>\n
Why did Israel corner NGOs?<\/p>\n
Last year, Israel said it would suspend aid groups that did not meet new requirements on sharing detailed information about their employees, funding and operations.<\/p>\n
According to rules set out by Israel\u2019s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs, the information to be handed over includes passport copies, CVs and names of family members, including children.<\/p>\n
It said it would reject organisations it suspected of inciting racism, denying the state of Israel\u2019s existence or the holocaust. It would also ban those it deems as supporting \u201can armed struggle by an enemy state or a terrorist organisation against the State of Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n
The measures were roundly condemned, given that Israel has weaponised aid throughout the genocide and falsely accused the United Nations humanitarian agencies of working with Hamas fighters and sympathisers.<\/p>\n
Israel has also accused MSF \u2013 without providing evidence \u2013 of employing people who fought with Palestinian groups.<\/p>\n
MSF said it would \u201cnever knowingly\u201d employ people engaging in military activity.<\/p>\n
Why did MSF agree to Israel\u2019s demands?<\/p>\n
MSF runs medical services in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, providing critical and emergency medical care, including surgery. It also helped run field hospitals in Gaza during two years of Israeli genocide.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Saturday, MSF said following \u201cunreasonable demands to hand over personal information about our staff\u201d, it has informed Israeli authorities that, as an exceptional measure, \u201cwe are prepared to share a defined list of Palestinian and international staff names, subject to clear parameters with staff safety at its core\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said MSF\u2019s Palestinian employees agreed with the decision after extensive discussions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would share this information with the expectation that it will not negatively affect MSF staff or our medical humanitarian operations,\u201d MSF said. \u201cSince 1 January 2026, all arrivals of our international staff into Gaza have been denied and all our supplies have been blocked.\u201d<\/p>\n
How have observers reacted?<\/p>\n
MSF\u2019s decision was condemned by some doctors, activists and campaigners, saying it could endanger Palestinians.<\/p>\n
A former MSF employee, who requested to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera, \u201cIt is extremely concerning, from a duty of care perspective, from a data protection perspective, and from the perspective of the most foundational commitment to humanity, that MSF would make a decision like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStaff are extremely concerned for their wellbeing and futures. Other NGOs have been in uproar, since it further exposes their decision not to concede to Israel\u2019s demands,\u201d they said. \u201cMSF faces profoundly difficult decisions \u2013 concede to the demands of a genocidal regime, or refuse and face complete expulsion and an abrupt end to all health activities in the coming weeks. But what is humanitarianism under genocide? There must be alternatives \u2013 alternatives that demand a much bolder and more disruptive approach to humanitarianism amid such brutal political decline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ghassan Abu Sittah, a British surgeon who has volunteered in Gaza several times, said, \u201cThe moral bankruptcy lies in the implication that during a genocide, Palestinians are capable of making free consent. Their employees have as much choice as the Palestinians who knowingly went to their death at the feeding stations to feed their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the decision was \u201cin clear contravention\u201d of European Union data protection laws.<\/p>\n
Hanna Kienzler, a professor of global health at King\u2019s College London, said on X, \u201cMSF, you have withdrawn your teams from war-affected settings before when you felt a mission\u2019s integrity and\/or safety were compromised. What makes you think Palestinian staff can be treated like cannon fodder so you can continue your mission in Gaza?\u201d<\/p>\n
Have other groups heeded Israel\u2019s demands?<\/p>\n
Israel says 23 organisations have agreed to the new registration rules. The others are understood to have refused or are weighing their decisions.<\/p>\n
Al Jazeera contacted Oxfam and is awaiting a response.<\/p>\n
Is aid being delivered to Gaza?<\/p>\n
Gaza has been pulled back from the brink of famine, but needs far more aid to support the population amid continued Israeli attacks \u2013 more than 400 people have been killed since a fragile ceasefire came into place in October, large-scale displacement and a healthcare crisis.<\/p>\n
Food shortages persist.<\/p>\n
Israel said it would commit to allowing 600 aid trucks per day to enter the Strip, but in reality, only 200 or so are being let in, locals say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The medical charity Doctors Without Borders says it will provide Israeli authorities with the personal details of some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2194,4582,837,7424,839,12,1814,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-723102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-gaza","9":"tag-human-rights","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-israel-palestine-conflict","12":"tag-middle-east","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-palestine","15":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115964427847883257","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}