FILE- A Palestinian woman arrives with a child at the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City . AFP
The decision, issued by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, claimed that the humanitarian organization had failed to submit lists of its Palestinian staff.
In December, Israel announced it would ban 37 aid organizations, including MSF, from operating in Gaza from 1 March for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations (UN).
The ministry had previously alleged that two MSF employees had links to the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, accusations the organization has categorically denied.
On Sunday, the ministry stated that MSF had committed in early January to sharing staff lists as required by Israeli authorities, but ultimately refrained from doing so.
In response, MSF said the decision was part of a broader pattern of pressure, intimidation, and smear campaigns targeting humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, aimed at restricting their work and undermining their ability to deliver life-saving medical care.
The organization stated that its registration to operate in Gaza and the West Bank has not been valid since 1 January, meaning it would be forced to suspend operations by 1 March unless the decision is reversed.
MSF warned that preventing it from continuing its work would deprive hundreds of thousands of Palestinians of medical care and access to clean water, noting that its services in Gaza alone reach around half a million people.
The organization firmly rejected Israeli claims that it had refused to cooperate, saying it had spent months attempting to engage with Israeli authorities to renew its registration and remained open to dialogue that would allow it to continue providing life-saving medical services while ensuring the safety of its staff.
In a statement on Friday, MSF acknowledged that it had, as an “exceptional measure”, agreed to share a list of the names of its Palestinian and international staff with Israeli authorities.
“However, despite repeated efforts, it became evident that we were unable to build engagement with Israeli authorities on the concrete assurances required,” it said.
“These included that any staff information would be used only for its stated administrative purpose and would not put colleagues at risk.”
Without those assurances, MSF said it had “concluded that we will not share staff information in the current circumstances”.
MSF has long been a key provider of medical and humanitarian aid in Gaza, particularly since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023.
The organization reported that 15 of its employees have been killed during the course of the war.
It currently provides at least 20 percent of hospital beds in the territory and operates around 20 health centres.
In 2025 alone, the charity carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations and more than 10,000 infant deliveries, and also provided drinking water.
Aid groups warn that without international support from organizations such as MSF, critical services—including emergency care, maternal health, and paediatric treatment—could collapse entirely in Gaza, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without basic medical care.
As with MSF, Israeli authorities have repeatedly accused the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) of providing cover for Hamas fighters, claiming that some of its employees took part in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October 2023.
A series of investigations, including one led by France’s former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found that Israel had not provided conclusive evidence to support its headline allegation.
Last month, Israeli authorities began demolishing buildings at UNRWA’s headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem, which the organization described as an “unprecedented attack”.
UNRWA has now been banned from operating in East Jerusalem, but continues to operate in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
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