Urgent Concerns Over Israeli Registration Rules for NGOs Operating in Gaza

Tue Dec 23 2025 03:51:32 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As international NGOs face new Israeli registration requirements, there are fears of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, potentially leading to the collapse of vital aid operations.

The United Nations and various humanitarian organizations are expressing grave concerns regarding new registration laws imposed by Israel on international NGOs. With a deadline approaching, many organizations risk losing their operational capacity in Gaza, which could lead to significant disruptions in healthcare and essential services. Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) are among those affected, with many still awaiting registration approval.

The UN and other aid agencies fear new Israeli registration rules for dozens of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) risk the collapse of the humanitarian response in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

INGOs not registered by 31 December face closure of their operations in Israel within 60 days, which the agencies say could severely disrupt healthcare and other life-saving services in Gaza.

Save the Children said its application had not been approved and it was 'pursuing all available avenues to have this decision reconsidered'.

Israel's ministry of diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism said the departure of 'rogue organisations' would not affect the delivery of aid.

Fourteen out of the approximately 100 applications have so far been rejected, 21 have been approved, and those remaining are still undergoing review, according to the ministry.

The registration system introduced in March includes several grounds for rejection, including:

Denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state
Denying the Holocaust or the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023
Supporting an armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or terrorist organisation
Promoting 'delegitimisation campaigns' against Israel
Calling for a boycott of Israel or committing to participate in one
Supporting the prosecution of Israeli security forces in foreign or international courts

The Humanitarian Country Team cautioned that the new registration system 'fundamentally jeopardises' the operations of INGOs in Gaza and the West Bank.

'Pressing ahead with this policy will have far-reaching consequences on the future of the OPT, in addition to threatening a fragile ceasefire and putting Palestinian lives at imminent risk, particularly during winter,' they warned.

Save the Children and MSF, both critical players in Gaza's humanitarian effort, have highlighted the potential disaster if the current operational capacity is curtailed due to these registration rules.

Israeli officials insist that the deadline for registration has been sufficiently extended and that any organization failing to register has shown 'a clear lack of good faith'.