Israeli authorities have ordered the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to cease all operations in Gaza by February 28 as Israel continues to impede humanitarian relief efforts inside the Palestinian territory.
Israel said that it was shutting down MSF’s operations in Gaza due to its refusal to turn over the identities of its Palestinian staff, a requirement of Israel’s stringent new rules for NGO’s operating in the Palestinian territories, which MSF said are a clear pretext to obstruct humanitarian aid.
“This is a pretext to obstruct humanitarian assistance. Israeli authorities are forcing humanitarian organisations into an impossible choice between exposing staff to risk or interrupting critical medical care for people in desperate need,” MSF said in a statement in response to the Israeli order.
MSF said in a previous statement on Friday that it was prepared to handover the information about its Palestinian employees with their permission if Israel provided assurances for their safety. “However, despite repeated efforts, it became evident in recent days that we were unable to build engagement with Israeli authorities on the concrete assurances required,” the charity group said.
MSF said it was asking Israel to guarantee that “any staff information would be used only for its stated administrative purpose and would not put colleagues at risk; that MSF would retain full authority over all human resource matters and management of medical humanitarian supplies, and that all communications defaming MSF and undermining staff safety would cease.”
As a result of Israel not providing such assurances, MSF said it “concluded that we will not share staff information in the current circumstances. No staff information has been shared with the Israeli authorities in this process.” Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of aid workers in Gaza.
MSF has provided significant support for Palestinians in Gaza suffering under Israel’s genocidal assault and blockade. According to the Palestine Chronicle, in 2025, the group treated more than 100,000 severe injuries, performed 22,700 surgeries, conducted nearly 800,000 medical consultations, assisted in over 10,000 births, and provided tens of thousands of psychological support sessions.
