Aid groups petition Israeli Supreme Court as Gaza, West Bank work ban nears | Humanitarian Crises News
Israel Orders 37 Aid Groups to Cease Operations in Gaza and West Bank
Israel has instructed 37 international aid organizations to halt their operations in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem, with an effective date set for March 1. This development raises significant concerns about the humanitarian situation for Palestinians in these regions.
In response, seventeen of the affected aid organizations have petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court, seeking permission to continue their work in these areas. They have requested an urgent suspension of the government’s ban, as well as an interim injunction pending a complete judicial review of the order.
Oxfam International warned that the forced cessation of operations could take effect as early as Saturday. The organization stressed that the ban would have immediate and far-reaching consequences for humanitarian aid efforts in the region.
“In Gaza, families remain reliant on external assistance amidst ongoing restrictions on aid entry and renewed military strikes,” Oxfam stated in a recent announcement. Furthermore, it highlighted that in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, increasing humanitarian needs are driven by military incursions, demolitions, displacement, settlement expansion, and settler violence.
The court petition follows notifications issued to the aid organizations on December 30, 2025, indicating that their work registrations had expired. The Israeli authorities granted them 60 days to renew their registrations, alongside the requirement to provide detailed personal information about their Palestinian staff members. Failure to comply would result in ceasing operations in the affected areas.
The organizations contend that complying with the Israeli mandate could expose their Palestinian staff to potential reprisals, undermine humanitarian neutrality, and violate European data protection laws. “Transforming humanitarian organizations into intelligence-gathering entities for a party in the conflict is fundamentally opposed to the principle of neutrality,” the petition asserted.
According to United Nations reports, 133 aid workers have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the onset of the recent conflict on October 7, 2023, including 15 members of Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The petitioners emphasized that halting their operations would lead to a “humanitarian collapse and irreparable harm” for hundreds of thousands of people in need. The vast majority of Gaza’s over 2 million residents depend on aid for essential services such as food, water, healthcare, and shelter, after extensive destruction from the ongoing conflict.
In light of these challenges, the organizations have proposed alternative measures to comply with Israeli security concerns, including donor-audited vetting systems for their staff.
