Israel to ban MSF from working in Gaza over refusal to provide staff list

2 hours agoGeorge WrightAFP via Getty ImagesIsrael says it will ban Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from working in Gaza after the medical charity refused to hand over a list of its staff in the territory.The Israeli government had ordered 37 organisations to submit documents about their local and international workers in Gaza, claiming some in MSF had links to armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The charity has vehemently denied this.MSF announced on Friday that it would not share a list of its Palestinian and international staff with Israeli authorities as it had not secured "assurances to ensure the safety of our staff".In response, Israel said it was "moving to terminate the activities" of MSF in Gaza.The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said the decision followed "MSF's failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organisations operating in the region".On 30 December, Israel announced that it was going to revoke the licences of 37 international non-governmental organisations working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, saying they had failed to meet new registration requirements.At the time the diaspora ministry said the measure was needed to prevent "the infiltration of terrorist operatives into humanitarian structures".The groups - which include MSF, ActionAid and the Norwegian Refugee Council - were told their operations must end within 60 days.The move was condemned by 10 countries, including the UK, France and Canada, who said the rules would have a severe impact on access to essential services.MSF said in a statement on Friday that it had informed Israeli authorities that, as an "exceptional measure", it would share a list of names of its Palestinian and international staff, "subject to clear parameters, with our staff safety at its core". "However, despite repeated efforts, it became evident in recent days that we were unable to build engagement with Israeli authorities on the concrete assurances required," it said."These included that any staff information would be used only for its stated administrative purpose and would not put colleagues at risk."Sam Rose, director of Gaza affairs for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, told the BBC that this will have "major negative consequences on the ability of international organisations to provide healthcare inside Gaza".He said MSF had its own reasons for not handing over staff lists "given the large numbers of staff of medical organisations and international organisations that have been killed over the past two years". A total of 1,700 healthcare staff have been killed in the war, including 15 MSF staff, the medical charity says.MSF says it currently provides at least 20% of hospital beds in Gaza and operates around 20 health centres. Last year, it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations and more than 10,000 infant deliveries, while providing drinking water.The latest war in Gaza began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 other people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 71,660 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.It says at least 509 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began on 10 October 2025. Four Israeli soldiers have also been killed.