Israel’s top court allows aid groups facing Gaza ban to continue working
Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that dozens of international aid agencies can continue to operate in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian territories, freezing an earlier government decision that barred aid groups that failed to comply with new rules.
In a ruling on Friday, Israel’s top court issued a temporary injunction to allow the NGOs to continue most of their activities while it considers a petition from 17 aid agencies against the government ban.
Israel had announced it will ban 37 aid groups from war-torn Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and occupied East Jerusalem on March 1, a move that experts warned could have potentially devastating consequences for Palestinians.
Aid agencies – including Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE – were notified by Israeli authorities in December that their Israeli work registrations had expired and that they had 60 days to renew them and provide lists containing personal details on their Palestinian staff.
The organisations say compliance with the Israeli orders would expose their Palestinian staff to potential retaliation, undermine the principle of humanitarian neutrality and violate European data protection law.
In a statement after Friday’s ruling, Shaina Low, communication adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the decision was welcome, but pointed to the difficulties that aid agencies continue to face in Gaza.
“The injunction pauses immediate closure. It does not restore visas, reopen access or resolve the wider restrictions that continue to affect aid delivery.
The damage is already done, temporary prevention not to make it worse, or just for optics.
Humanitarian Crisis Deepens in Gaza
Israel stepped up its airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding people while directly targeting police and faction-affiliated security personnel who were carrying out guard duties in central and southern areas of the enclave.
The escalation comes as humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate, driven by stormy winter weather and compounding crises in Gaza as a result of Israeli measures and ongoing restrictions on the entry of key goods and supplies.
An Israeli reconnaissance drone carried out an airstrike shortly after midnight on Thursday-Friday, targeting three members of the “Field Control Force” affiliated with the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
The men were on a guard and deployment mission in the al-Maslakh area, south of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, an area used by some armed gangs attempting to reach the city to carry out attacks or abduct Palestinians. The bodies of the three were transferred to Nasser Medical Complex. Two wounded men arrived with the bodies, one of them in critical condition.
The Israeli escalation comes as humanitarian conditions continue to worsen, driven by stormy winter weather and compounding crises in Gaza as a result of Israeli measures and ongoing restrictions on the entry of key goods and supplies.
For the third consecutive day, tents sheltering displaced families have been flooded by intermittent heavy rainfall, damaging belongings and forcing residents to seek alternative shelter until the rain subsides.
In the same context, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said forced displacement and aid restrictions in Gaza had led to overcrowding, deteriorating shelters and inadequate sanitation services, increasing the spread of disease. Its teams in Gaza reported a sharp rise in skin infections and waterborne illnesses.
UNRWA is working to help people through health and sanitation services, but greater access is needed to meet the enormous needs, it said.
Israel bars the entry of supplies aimed at repairing infrastructure and building hospitals and schools, further complicating the humanitarian and health situation.
