UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls on Israel to revoke its suspension of 37 foreign NGOs, warning it will worsen the humanitarian crisis.
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (pic) has called on Israel to reverse its ban on dozens of foreign humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza.
Guterres is “deeply concerned” by the suspension, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The Secretary-General stressed that international non-governmental organisations are indispensable to life-saving humanitarian work.
“This recent action will further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians,” Dujarric added.
Israel suspended 37 foreign humanitarian groups from accessing Gaza on Thursday.
The ban was imposed after the organisations refused to share lists of their Palestinian employees with Israeli officials.
It includes major agencies like Doctors Without Borders, which has 1,200 staff in the Palestinian territories.
All affected NGOs have been ordered to cease their operations by March 1.
Several organisations say Israel’s requirements contravene international humanitarian law.
They argue the rules endanger their operational independence and neutrality.
Israel states the new regulation aims to prevent groups it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating.
Eighteen Israel-based left-wing NGOs denounced the decision to ban their international peers.
They said “the new registration framework violates core humanitarian principles of independence and neutrality.”
A fragile ceasefire has been in place since October, following the latest deadly war.
The conflict erupted after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel in October 2023.
Authorities in Gaza said more than 70,000 people had been killed there by November.
UN data indicates nearly 80% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.
About 1.5 million of Gaza’s more than two million residents have lost their homes.
