Doctors Without Borders: We Will Continue Our Services in Palestine Despite Israeli Decisions

SadaNews - Doctors Without Borders called for a significant expansion of life-saving humanitarian assistance and ensured its unhindered access amid the ongoing catastrophe in Gaza, where human losses continue due to ongoing violence and the persistent constraints on aid imposed by Israeli authorities.

The organization stated in a statement: Despite these policies, we reaffirm our commitment to remain in Palestine for as long as possible and to operate under our registration with the Palestinian Authority.

It added: Under international humanitarian law, Israeli authorities bear the responsibility of ensuring the delivery of humanitarian assistance as the occupying power. However, the new restrictive rules, which require 37 NGOs to leave Palestine by March 1, threaten to significantly reduce aid, which is already inadequate. Governments around the world must ensure respect for International Court of Justice decisions, including facilitating humanitarian aid delivery, as mentioned in the statement.

The Secretary-General of Doctors Without Borders, Christopher Lakiere, said, "Doctors Without Borders is working to maintain services provided to patients in an increasingly constrained environment, given that the needs are immense and the strict restrictions have deadly consequences. Hundreds of thousands of patients need medical and psychological care, and tens of thousands require long-term medical, surgical, and psychological follow-up."

Despite the U.S.-led peace plan, Israeli authorities continue to impose stringent restrictions, sometimes even preventing access to water, shelter, and medical care in Gaza. Living conditions have deteriorated to humiliating levels, and violence continues to claim Palestinian lives and injure them daily. In recent weeks, humanitarian aid reaching Gaza has sharply declined. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, medical and humanitarian needs are worsening amid a troubling increase in levels of violence, forced displacement, armed settler attacks, home demolitions, settlement expansion, and constraints hindering access to healthcare.

The withdrawal of Doctors Without Borders' registration with Israeli authorities primarily affects patient care, as deregistration would exacerbate the pressure on a health system that has been devastated over the past two years, hindered by ongoing restrictions on essential medical equipment and supplies. Since the beginning of January, Israeli authorities have prevented Doctors Without Borders from bringing international staff and additional supplies into Palestine, and by March 1, 2026, all international staff of Doctors Without Borders will have to leave Palestine.
  
Doctors Without Borders programs are already suffering from acute shortages, and its medical teams express concern about their ability to continue providing emergency injury care and rehabilitation services for patients, alongside child care, sexual and reproductive health services, non-communicable disease care, and psychological support. In the long run, continuity of the organization's activities is uncertain, and it may not be possible to continue under these restrictions.
 
Lakiere states, "Doctors Without Borders programs represent a vital lifeline. This volume of medical care and humanitarian assistance cannot be easily compensated. In the midst of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, Doctors Without Borders will remain in Palestine for as long as possible and will do everything it can. We call on the Israeli authorities to enable the wide delivery of humanitarian aid and urge the international community to ensure that Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are not left to their fate."

Doctors Without Borders has been operating in Palestine since 1988, providing medical and psychological healthcare, as well as extensive water and sanitation services recently. In 2025, Doctors Without Borders supported one in five beds in Gaza hospitals, conducted a third of births, provided 913,284 consultations for non-resident patients, and distributed more than 700 million liters of water. In January 2026, Doctors Without Borders provided 83,579 outpatient consultations, treated 40,646 emergencies, and handled 5,981 cases related to injuries. In response to immense needs, Doctors Without Borders had planned to expand its programs in 2026 with a budget of 130 million euros, but this support is now shrouded in significant uncertainty.

The new restrictive registration requirements, used as a pretext to obstruct assistance, coincide with a coordinated global campaign of cyber attacks targeting Doctors Without Borders and promoted by the Israeli government.

Lakiere adds, "The delegitimization campaign, based on false claims not supported by evidence, aims to discredit Doctors Without Borders and silence its voice while obstructing healthcare delivery. In a context where international journalists are banned and Palestinian journalists are routinely killed, the reduction of access for NGOs may remove another layer of witnesses to the ongoing violence and its lasting impacts on people."