Israel Sets One-Month Deadline for Doctors Without Borders to End Work in Gaza

SadaNews - Israel announced on Sunday that it will halt the humanitarian operations of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza after the organization failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism stated that it is "moving towards ending the activities of Doctors Without Borders in the Gaza Strip."

It added that the decision came "after Doctors Without Borders failed to provide lists of its local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organizations operating in the area," noting that the organization will stop its work and leave Gaza by February 28.

The organization announced that it decided not to share any information related to its Palestinian and international staff with Israeli authorities under the current circumstances, in the absence of "concrete guarantees" for the safety of workers that allow the organization to manage its humanitarian operations independently.

The organization stated in a statement released on Friday that the decision came after months of "unproductive" communication attempts with Israeli authorities, and after failing to reach an agreement that ensures the data of staff would only be used for declared administrative purposes and to avoid exposing them to any security risks.

The organization clarified that Israeli authorities announced in March 2025 a decision requiring organizations wishing to register to provide personal information about their employees, which raised, according to the statement, "serious concerns" for Doctors Without Borders, especially in light of what professionals in the medical and humanitarian fields face in terms of arrests and assaults.

The statement added that since October 2023, about 1,700 health workers have been killed, including 15 employees from the organization, noting that Israeli authorities declared on December 30 that the organization's registration had expired, meaning its work would cease within 60 days.

The organization indicated that, in an attempt to continue providing life-saving medical care, it informed Israeli authorities on January 23 of its willingness to provide a "limited" list of names of some staff members as an exceptional measure, after consulting with Palestinian staff, provided that explicit consent was obtained from each individual, ensuring their complete safety.