World
Israel’s ban on Doctors Without Borders’ (MSF) humanitarian operations in Gaza will be “catastrophic” for Palestinian people, the organization’s head warned.
Israeli authorities announced on Sunday they were ending all MSF activities in Gaza and the West Bank after the group failed to submit a list of its Palestinian employees. The move takes effect on March 1.
MSF Secretary-General Christopher Lockyear criticized Israel’s decision as a pretext to obstruct aid. “We are at a moment where Palestinian people need more humanitarian assistance, not less,” he said in an interview with AFP from Geneva. MSF has been a key provider of medical and humanitarian aid in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 conflict involving Hamas.
The organization currently provides at least one-fifth of hospital beds in Gaza and operates around twenty health centers. In 2025 alone, it carried out more than eight hundred thousand medical consultations, treated over a hundred thousand trauma cases, and assisted over ten thousand infant deliveries. MSF also provided nearly seven hundred million liters of water.
“Israeli authorities failed to provide concrete assurances for the safety and protection of our staff,” Lockyear stated. “We have an impossible choice between ensuring the security of our staff or continuing operations.”
This decision comes after Israel banned three十七 aid organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza due to their failure to disclose information about their Palestinian employees.
The charity insists there is no proof of involvement with militant groups and demands Israeli authorities share any evidence. Lockyear appealed for other countries to pressure Israel to allow humanitarian organizations into the territory.
Without independent organizations like MSF, an already dire situation “can only get worse,” he warned. “[We need] massive increases in humanitarian assistance, not restrictions or blockades,” Lockyear concluded.