In July alone, over 60 requests were denied under the “justification” that the organizations were “not authorized to deliver aid,” the groups say.
More than 100 organizations have called for an end to Israel’s “weaponisation of aid” as it continues to obstruct critical life-saving aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
“Despite claims by Israeli authorities that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March,” the humanitarian groups said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
BREAKING: Oxfam & over 100 other organisations call for an end to Israel’s weaponization of aid. Since March, millions in lifesaving food & medicine have been blocked from Gaza. New INGO rules could now bar trusted NGOs, silence advocacy & censor reporting — defying international… pic.twitter.com/wJRYuLg8SB
— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) August 13, 2025
“Instead of clearing the growing backlog of goods, Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to bring in lifesaving goods, citing that these organisations are ‘not authorized to deliver aid,’” the groups, which include Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), stated.
In July alone, the NGOs stressed, over 60 requests “were denied under this justification.”
Food, Aid Stranded in Warehouses
This obstruction has left “millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicine, water, and shelter items” stranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt, while Palestinians are being starved, the groups stated.
“Anera has over $7 million worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza – including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away,” Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera, said.
Four more Palestinians died of starvation in the past 24 hours in Gaza, raising the death toll to 239, including 106 children, since October 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The statement noted that many of the NGOs that are now told they are not “authorized” to deliver aid have worked in Gaza for decades, are trusted by communities and experienced in delivering aid safely.
Their exclusion has left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses, “and aid workers themselves going to work hungry.”
New Registration Rules
The obstruction is tied to new INGO registration rules introduced in March, the NGOs explained.
“Under these new rules, registration can be denied on the basis of vague and politicised criteria, such as alleged ‘delegitimisation’ of the state of Israel,” they said.
Israel’s siege is starving the children of Gaza. 100 children have now died as a result of starvation and malnutrition. This is an entirely preventable man-made starvation crisis.@Keir_Starmer, @DavidLammy – how can you continue to be complicit in these monstrosities?
Aid air… pic.twitter.com/lhgvcYOdOJ
— Save the Children UK (@savechildrenuk) August 10, 2025
The NGOs warned that the process “was designed to control independent organisations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting.”
“This new bureaucratic obstruction is inconsistent with established international law as it entrenches Israel’s control and annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory,” they stressed.
NGOs are expected to submit to the full registration requirements, including the mandatory submission of details of private donors, complete Palestinian staff lists and other sensitive information about personnel for so-called “security” vetting to Israeli authorities. If not, many could be forced to halt operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and remove all international staff within 60 days, the statement noted.
‘Seven-Day Ultimatum’
Some organisations “have even been issued a seven-day ultimatum “to provide Palestinian staff lists, the NGOs said.
The organizations have made clear that sharing such data “is unlawful (including under relevant data protection laws), unsafe, and incompatible with humanitarian principles.”
They said that in the deadliest context for aid workers worldwide, where 98 percent of those humanitarians killed were Palestinian, NGOs “have no guarantees that handing over such information would not put staff at further risk, or be used to advance the government of Israel’s stated military and political aims.”
Their fears have proven true, they added, as the registration system is now being used to further block aid and deny food and medicine in the midst of the worst-case scenario of famine.
“Since the full siege was imposed on 2 March, CARE has not been able to deliver any of our $1.5 million worth of pre-positioned supplies into Gaza,” said Jolien Veldwijk, Country Director of CARE. “This includes critical shipments of food parcels, medical supplies, hygiene kits, dignity kits, and maternal and infant care items.”
Veldwijk said their mandate is to save lives, “but due to the registration restrictions civilians are being left without the food, medicine, and protection they urgently need.”
‘Deadly Tool of Control’
Meanwhile, Oxfam said it has over $2.5 million worth of goods that have been rejected from entering Gaza by Israel, especially WASH and hygiene items, as well as food.
“This registration process signals to INGOs that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out,” Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam Policy Lead, said.
The organizations also condemned the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as “a militarised distribution mechanism promoted as a humanitarian solution.”
#Gaza continues to face starvation. Hunger-related deaths are rising. Child malnutrition can lead to lifelong harm. Safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access is urgently needed.
Read more: https://t.co/h4LTpzgGq8 pic.twitter.com/jBgvs8PgBd— OCHA OPT (Palestine) (@ochaopt) August 14, 2025
“In reality, it is a deadly tool of control, with at least 859 Palestinians killed around ‘GHF’ sites since it began operating,” the NGOs stated.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire at or near GHF-run aid distribution sites.
“The militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation and curated suffering. Distributions at GHF sites have resulted in extreme levels of violence and killings, primarily of young Palestinian men, but also of women and children, who have gone to the sites in the hope of receiving food,” according to Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza.
Demand to Open Borders
The statement stressed that both the GHF scheme and the INGO registration process aim to block impartial aid, exclude Palestinian actors, and replace trusted humanitarian organisations with mechanisms that serve political and military objectives.
“At this point, everyone knows what the correct, humane answer is, and it’s not a floating pier, airdrops or the ‘GHF’,” Sean Carrrol of Anera stated.
Death Toll Rises to over 61,700 as Aid Seekers Targeted across Gaza
“The answer, to save lives, save humanity and save yourselves from complicity in engineered mass starvation, is to open all the borders, at all hours, to the thousands of trucks, millions of meals and medical supplies, ready and waiting nearby,” Carroll added.
International NGOs have urged states and donors to pressure Israel to end the weaponization of aid. This includes putting an end to bureaucratic obstructions, such as the registration procedures for international non-governmental organizations (INGOs). They insist that INGOs should not be forced to share sensitive personal information, which would violate the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or compromise staff safety or independence as a condition for delivering aid.
Furthermore, the NGOs are demanding the immediate and unconditional opening of all land crossings to allow for the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
