Aid organizations urge Israeli Supreme Court to lift work ban in Gaza and West Bank as deadline approaches.

In the midst of escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis, 37 aid groups face an imminent ban on their operations in Gaza and the occupied territories, a decision expected to exacerbate the already dire situation for millions of Palestinians. As these organizations petition the Israeli Supreme Court to halt the ban, their struggle highlights the critical need for humanitarian access amidst ongoing violence and instability in the region.

Seventeen international aid organizations are presently petitioning Israel’s Supreme Court to allow them to continue their crucial work in the Gaza Strip and other areas within the occupied Palestinian territories, following an announcement from the Israeli government that it plans to suspend their operations come March 1. The implications of this decision, described as potentially devastating, threaten the lives and well-being of countless Palestinians who rely on these vital services.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday, the aid organizations expressed their urgent call to the Supreme Court for a temporary injunction to prevent the implementation of this ban until a thorough judicial review can be conducted. Oxfam International, one of the groups at the forefront of this appeal, emphasized the serious repercussions of such closures, warning that the subsequent void in humanitarian aid would have immediate impacts that extend far beyond the operations of individual organizations.

The statement points out that families in Gaza remain heavily dependent on external assistance, particularly in light of ongoing restrictions preventing adequate aid from entering the region and the resumption of airstrikes in densely populated areas. Similarly, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, increasing military incursions, home demolitions, and settler violence have intensified the humanitarian crisis.

This legal challenge follows Israeli authorities notifying several organizations—including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and CARE—on December 30, 2025, that their registrations were expiring. They were given 60 days to renew their permissions, accompanied by a demand to submit detailed personal information about their Palestinian staff. Failure to comply could lead to an immediate cessation of operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

The organizations warn that complying with such demands would expose their staff to retaliation, undermine the essential principle of humanitarian neutrality, and potentially violate European data protection laws. Moreover, in their court documentation, they argue that transforming humanitarian agencies into informants for one side of the conflict runs counter to the core tenets of neutrality.

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, the United Nations reports that 133 aid workers have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Strip since the commencement of conflict on October 7, 2023, including 15 affiliated with Doctors Without Borders. The aid groups jointly assert that halting their operations could lead to a catastrophic humanitarian collapse, jeopardizing the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals in desperate need of assistance.

With over two million residents in Gaza already dependent on aid for survival, the potential for irrevocable harm becomes starkly apparent. The groups have suggested feasible alternatives for sharing information that would ensure compliance without compromising the safety of their staff or undermining broader humanitarian efforts.

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