New Israeli restrictions threaten lifesaving care in Gaza, MSF warns
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warns that Israel's newly introduced registration requirements for international non-governmental organizations could leave hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza without access to lifesaving healthcare.
The Paris-based charity said in a statement on Monday that the new rules could result in the cancellation of registration for international NGOs beginning January 1, effectively barring organizations like MSF from delivering vital services in war-torn Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
“With Gaza’s health system already destroyed, independent and experienced humanitarian organizations losing access to respond would be a disaster for Palestinians,” the statement read.
“MSF calls on the Israeli authorities to ensure that INGOs can maintain and continue their impartial and independent response in Gaza,” it added.
MSF warned that already limited humanitarian efforts “cannot be further dismantled.”
“In the last year, MSF teams have treated hundreds of thousands of patients and delivered hundreds of millions of liters of water,” Pascale Coissard, MSF emergency coordinator for Gaza, said.
She noted that MSF teams are seeking to enhance support for Gaza's overwhelmed healthcare system, and they conducted close to 800,000 outpatient consultations and treated over 100,000 trauma cases in 2025.
They plan to further expand their efforts in 2026, provided they receive the necessary registration, Coissard stated.
“If MSF loses its access to Gaza in 2026, due to the Israeli authorities, a large portion of people in Gaza will lose access to critical medical care, water, and lifesaving support. MSF’s activities serve nearly half a million people in Gaza through our vital support to the destroyed health system,” the statement added.
Last week, Doctors Without Borders expressed serious concern over children in the Gaza Strip suffering from extreme cold.
The organization called on Israel to allow increased humanitarian aid to help Palestinians cope with the challenging winter conditions.
It said in a statement on December 20 that “A 29-day-old baby died at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, just two hours after arriving at the pediatric ward supported by MSF.”
“Despite all treatment efforts, the child could not be saved. He died from severe hypothermia,” the organization added.
MSF warned that “the harsh winter weather, coupled with already dire living conditions, is exacerbating health risks.”
The Israeli military has killed at least 70,937 Palestinians, the majority being women and children, and wounded another 171,192 in Gaza since October 2023.
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