Gaza: Israel threatens to ban major aid organizations as starvation deepens

Over 100 organizations call for an end to Israel’s weaponization of aid

14 August 2025– Despite claims by Israeli authorities that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March.

Instead of clearing the growing backlog of goods, Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to bring in lifesaving goods, citing that these organizations are “not authorized to deliver aid.” In July alone, over 60 requests were denied under this justification.

This obstruction has left millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicine, water, and shelter itemsstranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt, while Palestinians are being starved.

Anera has over $7 million worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza – including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away.
Sean Carroll
President and CEO of Anera

Many of the NGOs now told they are not “authorized” to deliver aid have worked in Gaza for decades, are trusted by communities and experienced in delivering aid safely. Their exclusion has left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses, and aid workers themselves going to work hungry.

The obstruction is tied to new INGO registration rules introduced in March. Under these new rules, registration can be denied on the basis of vague and politicized criteria, such as alleged “delegitimization” of the state of Israel. INGOs warned the process was designed to control
independent organizations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting. This new bureaucratic obstruction is inconsistent with established international law as it entrenches Israel’s control and annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory.

Unless INGOs submit to the full registration requirements, including the mandatory submission of details of private donors, complete Palestinian staff lists and other sensitive information about personnel for so-called “security” vetting to Israeli authorities, many could be forced to halt operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and remove all international staff within 60 days. Some organizations have even been issued a seven-day ultimatum to provide Palestinian staff lists.

NGOs have made clear that sharing such data is unlawful (including under relevant data protection laws), unsafe, and incompatible with humanitarian principles. In the deadliest context for aid workers worldwide, where 98 percent of those humanitarians killed were Palestinian, NGOs have no guarantees that handing over such information would not put staff at further risk, or be used to advance the government of Israel’s stated military and political aims.

Today, INGOs’ fears have proven true: the registration system is now being used to further block aid and deny food and medicine in the midst of the worst-case scenario of famine.
Oxfam has over $2.5 million worth of goods that have been rejected from entering Gaza by Israel, especially WASH and hygiene items as well as food. This registration process signals to INGOs that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out.”
Bushra Khalidi
Oxfam Policy Lead
Mothers wait with their malnourished children at MSF’s Attar health centre in Khan Younis. Among children under five, as well as pregnant and lactating women screened at the clinic, nearly one in five were found to be malnourished (MSF). ©️MSF
Since the full siege was imposed on 2 March, CARE has not been able to deliver any of our $1.5 million worth of pre-positioned supplies into Gaza. This includes critical shipments of food parcels, medical supplies, hygiene kits, dignity kits, and maternal and infant care items. Our mandate is to save lives, but due to the registration restrictions civilians are being left without the food, medicine, and protection they urgently need.
Jolien Veldwijk
Country Director of CARE

These restrictions are part of a broader strategy that includes the so-called “GHF” scheme – a militarized distribution mechanism promoted as a humanitarian solution. In reality, it is a deadly tool of control, with at least 859 Palestinians killed around “GHF” sites since it began operating.

The militarized food distribution scheme has weaponized starvation and curated suffering. Distributions at GHF sites have resulted in extreme levels of violence and killings, primarily of young Palestinian men, but also of women and children, who have gone to the sites in the hope of receiving food.
Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa
MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza

Both the “GHF” scheme and the INGO registration process aim to block impartial aid, exclude Palestinian actors, and replace trusted humanitarian organizations with mechanisms that serve political and military objectives. They come as the government of Israel escalates its military
offensive and deepens its occupation in Gaza, making clear these measures are part of a broader strategy to entrench control and erase Palestinian presence.

Eight-month-old Nour Al-Shaer, who is severely malnourished, is examined by an MSF nurse. ©️MSF
At this point, everyone knows what the correct, humane answer is, and it's not a floating pier, airdrops or the “GHF.” The answer, to save lives, save humanity and save yourselves from complicity in engineered mass starvation, is to open all the borders, at all hours, to the thousands of trucks, millions of meals and medical supplies, ready and waiting nearby.
Sean Carroll
President and CEO of Anera

We call on all states and donors to:

  • Press Israel to end the weaponization of aid, including through bureaucratic obstruction, such as the INGO registration procedures.
  • Insist that INGOs are not forced to share sensitive personal information, in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or compromise staff safety or independence as a condition for delivering aid.
  • Demand the immediate and unconditional opening of all land crossings and conditions for the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid.





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