Israel's NGO deregistration measures endanger humanitarian lifelines in Gaza, UN warns

The UN has warned that Israel's recent deregistration measures targeting international charities risk undermining life-saving humanitarian operations in Gaza as winter storms worsen conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

In a statement on Friday, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that "humanitarians in Gaza continue to help the most vulnerable families as harsh winter conditions leave hundreds of thousands of Palestinians struggling in makeshift tents damaged by rain, wind, and seawater waves or war-damaged buildings at risk of collapse."

OCHA noted that while aid partners have distributed thousands of tents and hundreds of thousands of tarpaulins and other relief items across the enclave since the ceasefire, the impact of stormy weather has deepened already immense needs.

"Partners estimate that more than one million people, or every other person in Gaza, still urgently need shelter assistance," OCHA said.

Meanwhile, more than 50 international NGOs cautioned that Israel's recent deregistration measures would "impede critical humanitarian action" across the occupied Palestinian territory.

Emphasising the major role of aid organisations, OCHA stressed that the "UN's international NGO partners are humanitarian lifelines."

"In Gaza, they deliver the majority of health, nutrition, water, and sanitation services," it said, highlighting the health sector, where international NGOs sustain large parts of Gaza's health system through life-saving operations.

Worsening humanitarian crisis

Despite the ceasefire agreement taking effect in October, Israel continues to keep Gaza’s crossings largely closed, preventing the entry of mobile homes and reconstruction materials and worsening the humanitarian crisis affecting over 2 million people.

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a British charity operating in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Lebanon, said that 37 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) were notified on December 30 that their registrations would expire on December 31, 2025.

A 60-day grace period would follow, after which the organisations could be forced to stop work in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials say at least 414 people in Gaza have been killed since the ceasefire.

Regarding the situation in the occupied West Bank, OCHA reported that the destruction of 25 buildings in Nur Shams refugee camp, slated for demolition since mid-December, is ongoing. The homes belong to some 70 families displaced from the camp over the past year.

UNRWA said it supported more than 1,600 displaced families from Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams camps last week and is covering rental costs for three months during the cold winter months.