53 International NGOs warn Israel’s recent registration measures will impede critical humanitarian action

January 5, 2026

International humanitarian organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian
territory warn that Israel’s recent registration measures threaten to halt INGO
operations at a time when civilians face acute and widespread humanitarian need,
despite the ceasefire in Gaza. On 30 December, 37 INGOs received official
notification that their registrations would expire on 31 December 2025. This triggers
a 60-day period after which INGOs would be required to cease operations in Gaza
and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

INGOs are integral to the humanitarian response, working in partnership with the
United Nations and Palestinian civil society organizations to deliver lifesaving
assistance at scale. The United Nations, the Humanitarian Country Team, and donor governments have repeatedly affirmed that INGOs are indispensable to
humanitarian and development operations and have urged Israel to reverse course.

Despite the ceasefire, humanitarian needs remain extreme. In Gaza, one in four
families survives on just one meal a day. Winter storms have displaced tens of
thousands, leaving 1.3 million people in urgent need of shelter. INGOs deliver more
than half of all food assistance in Gaza, run or support 60 per cent of field hospitals,
implement nearly three-quarters of shelter and non-food item activities, and provide
all treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition. Their removal would close
health facilities, halt food distributions, collapse shelter pipelines, and cut off life-saving care. In the West Bank, ongoing military raids and settler violence
continue to drive displacement. Further restrictions on INGOs would sharply reduce
the reach and continuity of lifesaving assistance at a critical moment.

Recent efforts to assess the impact of deregistering INGOs through selective metrics
do not capture how humanitarian assistance is delivered in practice. Humanitarian
access must be measured by whether civilians receive the right assistance, in the
right place, at the right time.

INGOs operate under strict donor-mandated compliance frameworks, including
audits, counterterror financing controls, and due diligence requirements that meet
international standards. More than 500 humanitarian workers have been killed since
7 October 2023. INGOs cannot transfer sensitive personal data to a party to the
conflict since this would breach humanitarian principles, duty of care and data
protection obligations. False narratives delegitimize humanitarian organizations,
endanger staff, and undermine the delivery of assistance.

This is not a technical or administrative matter, but a deliberate policy choice with
foreseeable consequences. If registrations are allowed to lapse, the Israeli
government will obstruct humanitarian assistance at scale. Humanitarian access is
not optional, conditional, or political. It is a legal obligation under international
humanitarian law. This move would also set a dangerous precedent by extending
Israeli authority over humanitarian operations in the occupied Palestinian territory,
contrary to the internationally recognized legal framework governing the territory and
the role of the Palestinian Authority.

We call on the Government of Israel to immediately halt deregistration proceedings
and lift measures obstructing humanitarian assistance. We urge donor governments
to use all available leverage to secure the suspension and reversal of these actions.
Independent, principled humanitarian operations must be protected to ensure
civilians can receive the assistance they urgently need.

Note to editors:

• The role of INGOs is irreplaceable across all humanitarian sectors:

Health: INGOs run or support approximately 60 percent of Gaza’s field
hospitals. Deregistration would result in the immediate closure of
roughly one in three health facilities.
Food security: INGOs delivered more than half of all food assistance
in 2024, including the majority of cooked-meal distribution points.
Shelter: INGOs have implemented nearly three-quarters of all shelter
and non-food item activities. Approximately 600,000 shelter items are
currently in INGO supply pipelines.
Water and sanitation: INGOs deliver 42 percent of all WASH services,
including outbreak prevention and response for acute watery diarrhea.
Nutrition: INGOs support all five stabilization centers treating children
with severe acute malnutrition, representing 100 percent of Gaza’s
treatment capacity.
Mine action: INGOs provide more than half of all funding for explosive
hazard clearance. Removal of INGOs would result in capacity
reductions of up to 100 percent.
Education: INGOs run or support around 30 percent of emergency
education activities, which already reach only a limited proportion of the
school-age population.

• Principled humanitarian organizations cannot transfer sensitive personal data
of national staff or their families. This is consistent with humanitarian
principles, duty-of-care obligations, and global data-protection standards
applied across all contexts.
• Restrictions on INGOs also directly affect Palestinian and Israeli partner
organizations, undermining local response capacity, disrupting funding flows,
and weakening community-based service delivery across sectors.
• INGOs are legally authorized to operate and remain committed to delivering
humanitarian assistance through UN coordination systems and local
partnerships, while continuing to seek the removal of measures that obstruct
aid delivery.

Signatories: