Doctors Without Borders says it will end Gaza operations in March if Israel does not reverse its ban on 37 aid groups, citing registration issues.
PARIS: Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says it will have to end its operations in Gaza by March if Israel does not reverse its decision to ban the organisation.
Israel confirmed on Thursday it is barring 37 major international humanitarian groups from entering the Gaza Strip.
It accuses them of failing to provide official lists of their employees’ names, which it says is required for security reasons.
MSF called this demand a “scandalous intrusion” intended to stop aid groups from witnessing army actions.
“To work in Palestine, in the occupied Palestinian territories, we have to be registered,” said Isabelle Defourny, president of MSF France.
“That registration expired on December 31, 2025.”
She said the group has been involved in a re-registration process since July 2025 but has received no response from Israeli authorities.
“We still have 60 days during which we could work without being re-registered, and so we would have to end our activities in March,” she added.
MSF has around 40 international staff in Gaza and works with 800 Palestinian staff across eight hospitals.
The group says it is the second-largest distributor of water in the territory.
It treated over 100,000 wounded or traumatised patients there in 2025.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to end the ban on Friday, saying he was “deeply concerned”.
