Concerns Mount as Israel's New Registration Rules Threaten Gaza Aid Operations

Tue Dec 23 2025 06:36:37 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Humanitarian agencies warn that new Israeli registration requirements could disrupt crucial aid and healthcare services in Gaza, with many NGOs fearing closure by year's end.

The introduction of new Israeli registration rules for international NGOs has raised alarms among humanitarian organizations, which warn of a potential collapse of aid operations in Gaza. The deadline for compliance is set for December 31, with many organizations facing imminent closure if their applications are not approved. Major NGOs like Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières express grave concerns about the impact on healthcare and essential services for Palestinians, highlighting the dire situation amid ongoing conflict.

The UN and other aid agencies fear new Israeli registration rules for dozens of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) risk the collapse of the humanitarian response in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

INGOs not registered by 31 December face closure of their operations in Israel within 60 days, which the agencies say could severely disrupt healthcare and other life-saving services in Gaza.

Save the Children said its application had not been approved and it was pursuing all available avenues to have this decision reconsidered.

Israel's ministry of diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism said the departure of rogue organisations would not affect the delivery of aid.

Fourteen out of the approximately 100 applications have so far been rejected, 21 have been approved, and those remaining are still undergoing review, according to the ministry.

The registration system introduced in March includes several grounds for rejection, including:

Denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state
Denying the Holocaust or the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023
Supporting an armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or terrorist organisation
Promoting delegitimisation campaigns against Israel
Calling for a boycott of Israel or committing to participate in one
Supporting the prosecution of Israeli security forces in foreign or international courts

The Humanitarian Country Team warned that the system fundamentally jeopardises the operations of INGOs in Gaza and the West Bank, and stressed that the consequences would place Palestinian lives at risk, particularly during winter.

If they were forced to stop operations, one in three health facilities in Gaza would close, it said.

Save the Children, meanwhile, confirmed it was actively seeking a resolution regarding its application. Positioned at the forefront of humanitarian aid, these organizations are vital in supporting healthcare and basic necessities in Gaza, meriting urgent attention to their plight amid this regulatory climate.