’Israel’ To Bar MSF from Gaza, Escalating Healthcare Crisis

By Staff, Agencies

"Israel" announced it will end Doctors Without Borders’ [MSF] operations in Gaza after the organization refused to provide a list of its Palestinian staff amid the territory’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.

“The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism is moving to terminate the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said on Sunday.

The decision followed “MSF’s failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organizations operating in the region,” it added.

The ministry had earlier asserted that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian Resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the charity has rejected.

On Sunday, the "Israeli" entity said MSF initially agreed in January to provide a staff list but later refused over safety concerns, adding, “MSF will cease its operations and depart the Gaza Strip by February 28.”

"Israel" plans to revoke 37 NGO licenses in Gaza and the West Bank, prompting MSF to call it a “pretext to obstruct humanitarian assistance.”

MSF denounced "Israel" for forcing aid groups to choose between staff safety and delivering care, saying it withheld names due to lack of guarantees.

Such demands by "Israel" will force aid organizations to pull out when “needs are overwhelming and health services are collapsing” in Gaza, it said.

“At a moment when more humanitarian assistance is urgently needed, it is being restricted rather than facilitated,” the charity said, adding that it remained open for dialogue with "Israeli" authorities to maintain its services in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Moreover, MSF reported 15 staff killed since "Israel’s" genocidal Gaza war began in October 2023, while providing 20% of hospital beds, 20 health centers, and vital medical services amid devastation that killed 71,795 Palestinians and destroyed 90% of civilian infrastructure.