Doctors Without Borders will be banned from Gaza within month for not providing employee list, says ministry

Israel will move ahead with its decision to ban Doctors Without Borders (MSF) from working in the Gaza Strip, says the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.

“This follows a substantial and ongoing violation of existing registration procedures designed to facilitate legitimate humanitarian activity while preventing the misuse of humanitarian cover for hostile activities and terrorism,” says the ministry in a statement. “The violation involves MSF’s failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organizations operating in the region.”

On January 1, Israel vowed to enforce a ban on the activities of 37 international NGOs operating in Gaza, including MSF, over their failure to comply with stringent new “security and transparency” requirements concerning their employees.

The standards were put in place under a government resolution from March 1, 2025, requiring NGOs to submit a raft of documentation about their organization and identify all foreign and Palestinian employees, including their passports and personal identification numbers. Some of the NGOs targeted have said the requirements flout, or at least erode, international humanitarian law, and Israel has faced international criticism.

According to the ministry, MSF committed to handing over employee lists, and Israel expected to receive them last Tuesday.

“These employee lists are not shared with external parties and are used solely for internal purposes,” says the ministry.

But MSF did not give Israel the list, and announced it would not comply. The organization will end operations in Gaza by the end of February, says the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.

“Assessments are being made to provide alternative medical solutions to ensure the continuity of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip following the organization’s departure,” says the statement.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli says that MSF “abruptly changed its position after publicly committing to act according to procedure.”

“We are aware that MSF employs individuals active in terrorist organizations, which is why it hides its employee lists,” he charges. “The organization operates in coordination with the Hamas Ministry of Health, and not by coincidence, its statements were published in proximity to similar statements from elements within the Strip.”