Israel has suspended the operations of 37 aid agencies — most of them international organizations — working in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, effective 1 January, claiming the groups failed to complete comprehensive documentation about their agencies and employees.
The Israeli authorities revoked the licenses for Doctors Without Borders, World Vision International, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Mercy Corps, as well as Christian organizations like the Near East Council of Churches, Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Jerusalem, instructing the groups that they must end their operations within 60 days.
In March 2025, Israel developed new rules it said were meant to limit militant groups from operating under the guise of international organizations. Among the documentation it required was a list of all foreign and Palestinian employees as well as their passport numbers or personal identification numbers.
International organizations said providing such documentation would endanger their employees, including making them possible targets, noting that several of their personnel in Gaza had been killed during Israel’s bombardment of the territory.
In a statement released 16 December, humanitarian agencies — including senior U.N. officials — said if international aid organizations were pushed out of Gaza, “the humanitarian response will not survive.” The United Nations said if the licenses were revoked, one in three hospitals would close almost immediately.
Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which oversees the registrations, said the restrictions would not affect the flow of aid to Gaza.
Each year, international humanitarian organizations deliver about $1 billion worth of aid to Gaza, but they claim much of the aid is now blocked by Israeli authorities.
OSV News reported that while the unregistered organizations will not be able to bring in aid from outside Gaza, they still can continue with their work using supplies obtained from within Gaza. This report remains unconfirmed and for now seems to contradict other news reports.
OSV News also reported that the European Union and the United Nations have condemned the move, noting it would exacerbate the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the two-year war has left most Gazans homeless, many living in tents amid worsening winter conditions.
Ten foreign ministers — from Canada, Japan and eight European countries — released a statement 30 December, describing the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and warning of a “renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation.” Harsh winter conditions have resulted in flooding, collapsed shelters and freezing temperatures.
Farid Jubran, spokesman of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said in a statement 31 December that Caritas Jerusalem is “a humanitarian and development organization operating under the umbrella and governance of the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.”
He said Caritas Jerusalem is recognized in Israel as an ecclesiastical legal person, with its status and mission affirmed by the State of Israel through the 1993 Fundamental Agreement and the 1997 Legal Personality Agreement signed by the Holy See and Israel. He said Caritas Jerusalem has not “undertaken any re-registration process with the Israeli authorities,” and Caritas Internationalis does not “implement or conduct any direct interventions within the country.”
Nevertheless, “Caritas Jerusalem will continue its humanitarian and development operations in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, in accordance with its mandate,” he said.
This is an ongoing story. We will publish updates as we receive them.