UN chief Guterres calls on Israel to reverse NGO ban in Gaza, West Bank

Guterres says pending ban targets groups ‘indispensable to life-saving’ work, undermines ceasefire progress.Published On 3 Jan 2026United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Israel to reverse a pending ban on 37 nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.In a statement on Friday, Guterres called the work of the groups “indispensable to life-saving humanitarian work”, according to spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. He added that the “suspension risks undermining the fragile progress made during the ceasefire”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Gaza cousins face lost youth, and family tragedy, after amputationslist 2 of 3Belfast rallies for Palestine hunger strikers as memories of 1981 returnlist 3 of 3The ceasefire did what it was meant to do – make Gaza invisibleend of listIsrael banned the humanitarian groups for failing to meet new registration rules requiring aid groups working in the occupied territory to provide “detailed information on their staff members, funding and operations”. It has pledged to enforce the ban starting March 1.Experts have denounced the requirements as arbitrary and in violation of humanitarian principles. Aid groups have said that providing personal information about their Palestinian employees to Israel could put them at risk.The targeted groups include several country chapters of Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym, MSF), the Norwegian Refugee Council, and the International Rescue Committee.To date, Israel has killed about 500 aid workers and volunteers in Gaza throughout its genocidal war. All told, at least 71,271 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.In his statement, Guterres said the NGO ban “comes on top of earlier restrictions that have already delayed critical food, medical, hygiene and shelter supplies from entering Gaza”.“This recent action will further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians,” he said.