Humanitarian agencies barred from access to the Occupied Palestinian Territories: what we know so far

On 30 December, Israel announced they will be revoking licenses of 37 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The move has been condemned by countries and organisations around the world, and senior UN officials have urged Israel to reverse the plans. Agencies that are affected by the revocation include Bond members such as Norwegian Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, ActionAid, World Vision International, Oxfam and Care International, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières.

Here’s what we know so far.

Humanitarian access before and after the ceasefire

There has been a constant struggle to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023. Humanitarian assistance was being denied entry by Israel, with a fraction of what was required being allowed into the strip throughout the conflict.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) were banned on 28 October 2024, following allegations that members of the largest humanitarian agency in Gaza were part of the planned attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. These allegations were refuted by UNRWA, and the International Court of Justice found that Israel’s allegations against UNRWA were unsubstantiated in October last year.

In May 2025, the Israeli government announced that humanitarian distribution would be managed by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed non-governmental organisation that uses private military and security contractors.

Harrowing reports surfaced of Gazans forced into barbed wire cages in searing heat to await their much-needed humanitarian assistance. There were also reports of people being shot and killed while waiting from guards and other eyewitnesses.

The ceasefire, which began on 10 October 2025, included an agreement that 600 trucks of basic essentials per day would be allowed to enter the strip. However, according to Associated Press analysis of figures by COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid entry, only 459 trucks on average have been allowed in.

On top of this, it was revealed by the UN that Israel has rejected over 100  requests “for the entry of relief materials, including blankets, winter clothes, and tools and material to maintain and operate water, sanitation and hygiene services” since the ceasefire began.

Now, following the announcement of the licences being revoked, according to the BBC, Israel’s ministry of diaspora affairs, which oversees registration applications, said the new measures would not affect the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. They said that the organisations had failed to meet their “security and transparency requirements“.

International and NGO response

In an open letter, more than 50 INGOs, including Islamic Relief, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Oxfam, warned the ban would “gravely impede aid access in Gaza”.

“If registrations are allowed to lapse, the Israeli government will obstruct humanitarian assistance at scale,” the letter says. “Humanitarian access is not optional, conditional, or political. It is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law.”

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the ten countries, including UK, France, Canada and Japan, said INGOs were integral to the humanitarian response in Gaza and that any attempt to stem their ability to operate was “unacceptable“. The minsters highlighted deteriorating conditions and the winter weather as a reason that the timing is so dire.

Seven countries, including Ireland and Norway, have also condemned Israeli legislation that will potentially cut water and electricity supplies to UNWRA, stating that it would lead to “grave humanitarian consequences for the Palestinian civilian population and refugees”.

Israel-based rights groups, including B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, said in a statement on the day the revocations came into effect that “the new registration framework violates core humanitarian principles of independence and neutrality.”

COGAT have said that humanitarian assistance will continue to be delivered into Gaza, and have said that the listed agencies “did not bring aid into Gaza throughout the current ceasefire,” and that even in the past their combined contribution amounted to only about 1% of the total aid volume”. This has been disputed, with the open letter from INGOs stating “Recent efforts to assess the impact of deregistering INGOs through selective metrics do not capture how humanitarian assistance is delivered in practice.”

Bond’s response

We have called for an immediate reversal  called for an immediate reversal of the ban, telling the iPaper that it “would have a devastating impact on access to essential services for millions of Palestinians”.

“At this critical moment, amid harsh weather conditions and as levels of famine remain acute in large parts of Gaza, civilians urgently require an increased and unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance – including healthcare, water and sanitation, and nutrition – to prevent unnecessary suffering and further loss of life,”

 “International NGOs are integral to the humanitarian response in Gaza and the West Bank, and must be allowed to operate safely, independently, and without restriction.”

We will continue to advocate for a reversal of the decision, and will support our members and our Occupied Palestine Territories Working Group to help get the people of Gaza and the occupied West Bank the aid that they desperately need.