Deregistration of NGOs under new Israeli rules ‘will have catastrophic impact on Gaza services’
New rules in Israel for registering NGOs, under which more than a dozen groups have already been rejected, could have a catastrophic impact on aid work in Gaza and the West Bank, relief workers have warned.
The NGOs have until December 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims to prevent “hostile actors or supporters of terrorism”.
Requests are rejected for “organisations involved in terrorism, antisemitism, delegitimisation of Israel, Holocaust denial, denial of the crimes of October 7,” Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism told AFP.
The ministry said 14 out of 100 registration requests have been rejected since November.
The Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned that dozens of groups face deregistration and that, while some had been registered, “these NGOs represent only a fraction of the response in Gaza and are nowhere near the number required just to meet immediate and basic needs”.
“The deregistration of NGOs in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services,” it said.
The amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate. While the ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the UN.
The NGOs barred under the new rules include Save the Children, one of the best known and oldest in Gaza, where it helps 120,000 children, and the American Friends Service Committee.
They are being given 60 days to withdraw all their international staff from the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Israel, and will no longer be able to deliver any aid.
‘Lives depend on it’: WHO urges countries to open doors to Gaza patients
The head of the World Health Organization has warned that more lives could be lost unless patients from Gaza are able to head abroad for treatments or undergo medical evacuations to the occupied West Bank.
In a post on social media, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO and its partners have evacuated more than 10,600 patients from Gaza with severe health conditions, including more than 5,600 children, since the start of the war.
“Yet, many more patients remain in Gaza awaiting evacuation to receive appropriate health care,” he said. “According to Ministry of Health, 1092 patients have died while awaiting medical evacuation between July 2024 and November 28, 2025. However, this figure is likely underreported.”
Since October 2023, @WHO and partners have evacuated over 10,600 patients from Gaza with severe health conditions, including over 5600 children, each one in need of critical advanced treatment.
Yet, many more patients remain in Gaza awaiting evacuation to receive appropriate… pic.twitter.com/h9dgKG6ztV
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 19, 2025
No adequate shelters or warm clothes for Palestinians braving Gaza’s storms
The current storms in Gaza are among the “harshest” periods people there have faced, says resident Ahmad al-Najjar.
“Thousands of Palestinians … have been pushed [to al-Mawasi] sheltering in inadequate tents that [have] been exposed to the harshest conditions,” he told Al Jazeera, speaking from Gaza’s southern area of al-Mawasi.
Strong winds have destroyed thousands of tents and left people homeless once again, he said.
“Just yesterday, two trucks were allowed [in]to the Gaza Strip while [600] trucks are supposed to enter every single day,” added al-Najjar.
No materials for shelter have been allowed in by Israel since the ceasefire, he said. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to launch deadly attacks while babies and young children are dying due to the cold, he added.
“Many more are expected to die with no aid … [or warm] winter clothes.”
