More than 100 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) joined forces on Wednesday to demand an end to Israel’s weaponization of aid, which exacerbates the appalling suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. While famine unfolds in the territory, with people dying daily due to malnutrition and starvation, the Israeli government's threat to ban major aid organizations from operating in Gaza worsens the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe even further.
Despite Israeli authorities' claims that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs have been unable to deliver a single truckload of lifesaving supplies since March 2, when Israel began its long-term blockade of humanitarian aid and commercial goods.
According to United Nations officials, humanitarian conditions remain largely unchanged, despite some improvements in UN aid operations enabled by the Israeli military’s “tactical pauses” and the recent approval of a mechanism for resuming the entry of some commercial goods into Gaza.
On Wednesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) emphasized that the amount of aid and goods entering Gaza does not meet the minimum requirements for the starving population.
Rather than clearing the growing backlog of goods, Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to deliver lifesaving supplies, claiming that these organizations are "not authorized to deliver aid."
Israel’s obstruction has left millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicine, water, and shelter supplies stranded in warehouses in Jordan and Egypt while Palestinians are starving to death.
Many NGOs that have worked in Gaza for decades, are trusted by communities, and are experienced in delivering aid safely now say they are not “authorized” to deliver aid. Their exclusion has left hospitals without basic supplies and has resulted in the deaths of children, people with disabilities, and older people from hunger and preventable illnesses. It has also left aid workers starving.
Israel's obstruction is tied to new registration rules for international NGOs introduced in March. Under these rules, registration can be denied based on vague and politicized criteria, such as the alleged “delegitimization” of Israel.
The NGOs warn that the process is designed to control independent organizations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reports.
“Since the full siege was imposed on March 2, CARE has not been able to deliver any of our $1.5 million worth of pre-positioned supplies into Gaza,” said Jolien Veldwijk, CARE's country director, in a statement.
“This includes critical shipments of food parcels, medical supplies, hygiene kits, dignity kits, and maternal and infant care items. Our mandate is to save lives, but due to the registration restrictions civilians are being left without the food, medicine, and protection they urgently need.”
Many international NGOs could be forced to halt operations in Gaza and remove all international staff unless they submit to the full registration requirements. These requirements include the mandatory submission of details of private donors, complete Palestinian staff lists, and other sensitive personnel information for so-called “security” vetting to Israeli authorities.
“Oxfam 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,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam Policy Lead.
“This registration process signals to INGOs [international non-governmental organizations] that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out.”
The NGOs, most of which are humanitarian organizations but some of which are also development and human rights organizations, have made clear that sharing such data is unlawful, unsafe, and incompatible with humanitarian principles.
In a related development on Tuesday, a group of UN special rapporteurs on human rights published a letter to the Israeli government stating their deep concern that the registration measures "weaken the ability of INGOs to operate independently and impartially and to carry out their humanitarian and human rights work without interference or fear of reprisal."
Gaza is the deadliest place for aid workers worldwide, with Palestinian staff accounting for 98 percent of fatalities among aid workers. At least 520 aid workers have been killed since October 2023.
The non-governmental organizations say their fears have been realized: the registration system is now being used to block aid further and deny food and medicine amid the worst-case scenario of famine.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world’s leading authority on acute hunger, famine is currently unfolding in Gaza, where access to food and other essential goods and services has plummeted to an unprecedented level. Two out of three famine thresholds have been exceeded in parts of the territory.
Although famine has not yet been officially declared, people in Gaza, especially infants and young children, are starving to death solely as a result of Israel’s siege and deliberate obstruction of life-saving aid — a severe war crime and likely act of genocide.
Israeli restrictions are part of a broader strategy that includes the Gaza “Humanitarian” Foundation (GHF) scheme — a militarized distribution mechanism promoted as a humanitarian solution. In reality, however, it is a deadly tool of control; more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed near "GHF" sites since the entity began operating.
The GHF is an entity controlled by Israel and the United States. Yet it is opposed by the United Nations, humanitarian organizations, human rights organizations, and the vast majority of countries worldwide.
Despite having "humanitarian" in its name, the GHF is regarded as the very opposite of a humanitarian organization. Setting it up to weaponize aid and limit food aid to small groups of Gazans — those who can reach it and survive crossing combat zones — may itself amount to a war crime, a crime against humanity, or an act of genocide.
“The militarized food distribution scheme has weaponized 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,” said Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, emergency coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Gaza.
Both the "GHF" scheme and the INGO registration process aim to block impartial aid, exclude Palestinian individuals and organizations, and replace trusted humanitarian organizations with mechanisms that serve political and military objectives.
The NGOs are calling on all states and donors to urge Israel to stop weaponizing aid through bureaucratic obstruction, such as the INGO registration procedures.
They insist that INGOs cannot be forced to share sensitive personal information in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or to compromise staff safety or independence as a condition for delivering aid.
The aid agencies and human rights groups demand the immediate and unconditional opening of all land crossings to allow the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid.
International law is clear: Civilians must be respected and protected. They must never be targeted or deliberately deprived of food or access to other lifesaving aid. Doing so constitutes a severe war crime.
Rather than allocating all its efforts to saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid, as required by international humanitarian law, the Israeli government is escalating its military operations and has announced plans for a complete military takeover of Gaza.
Further expansion of military operations will worsen the already catastrophic conditions and runs contrary to the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling that Israel must end its occupation as soon as possible to realize the agreed-upon two-state solution and the Palestinians' right to self-determination.
On Thursday, OCHA warned that if the announced Israeli ground operation in Gaza City moves ahead, thousands of families already enduring appalling humanitarian conditions could be pushed over the edge.
Over the past two years, almost everyone in Gaza has been forcibly displaced, with most having fled more than a dozen times. Palestinians in Gaza have now been forced into an approximately 14 percent area of the territory that lacks basic services and shelter and is not safe.
According to Gaza health officials, Israeli forces have killed over 61,700 Palestinians, most of whom were children, women, and elderly individuals, and injured more than 154,500 others in attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
However, the true death toll is believed to be much worse. Thousands more remain buried under the rubble, and a lack of equipment and insecurity hinder rescue efforts for the wounded and missing. Moreover, it is estimated that thousands of others have died from indirect causes, including starvation, lack of medical care, dehydration, and lack of shelter.
The recorded deaths include over 1,800 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the end of May while attempting to obtain food in the territory. Most of these deaths occurred at or near GHF militarized aid distribution points; others were killed near UN aid convoys.
This war has taken an unconscionable toll on children in the Gaza Strip. Since October 7, 2023, more than 60,000 boys and girls have reportedly been killed or injured in Israel’s military operations. Of those, more than 18,400 have been recorded as killed.
Leading international and Israeli human rights organizations, international rights experts, and UN commissions have found that Israel's actions in Gaza, including the blockade and obstruction of humanitarian aid, constitute not only flagrant war crimes and crimes against humanity but are also part of a genocide against Gaza's population.
According to their findings, the Israeli government is deliberately inflicting living conditions intended to destroy a group or part of a group, as defined in the Genocide Convention. At the same time, Israel's war in Gaza continues to be characterized by grave war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israeli military and government officials.
These crimes include the collective punishment of civilians, the use of starvation as a method of warfare, the denial of humanitarian aid, indiscriminate killings, the carrying out of disproportionate attacks, the targeting of civilians, the targeting of aid workers, the targeting of journalists, the deliberate attack of civilian objects and undefended buildings, forced transfers, torture, and enforced disappearances.
Further information
Full text: Gaza joint statement: Israel threatens to ban major aid organizations as starvation deepens, joined statement of 108 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), released August 13, 2025
https://www.nrc.no/news/2025/august/gaza-israel-threatens-to-ban-major-aid-organizations-as-starvation-deepens
Full list of signatories to the Gaza joint statement on August 13, 2025
A New Policy
2. ACT Alliance
3. ActionAid Denmark
4. ActionAid International
5. Action Against Hunger (ACF)
6. Action For Humanity
7. All We Can
8. Alliance Sud
9. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
10. Americares
11. Anera
12. Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz
13. Bystanders No More
14. Campaign Against Arms Trade
15. Canadian Foodgrains Bank
16. CARE
17. Caritas Internationalis
18. Caritas Jerusalem
19. Caritas Middle East and North Africa
20. Caritas Switzerland
21. Center for Jewish Nonviolence
22. Charity & Security Network
23. ChildFund Alliance
24. Children Not Numbers
25. Christian Aid
26. Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
27. CISS - Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud
28. Committee to Protect Journalists
29. Comundo
30. Cooperation Canada
31. COORDINADORA VALENCIANA ONGD
32. DanChurchAid
33. Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
34. Department of Service to the Palestinian Refugees
35. Diakonia
36. Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe
37. EDUCO
38. Embrace the Middle East
39. Emergency - Life Support for Civilian War Victims Ong Ets
40. Entreculturas
41. Finn Church Aid (FCA)
42. Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e.V. (Pro Peace)
43. Frieda - the Feminist Peace Organization
44. Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
45. Fund for Global Human Rights
46. Glia
47. HEKS/EPER (Swiss Church Aid)
48. HelpAge International
49. Humanitarian Coalition
50. Humanity Auxilium
51. Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International
52. Humanity First UK
53. INARA
54. Insecurity Insight
55. International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF)
56. INTERSOS
57. Islamic Relief
58. Jahalin Solidarity
59. Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
60. Jüdische Stimme für Demokratie und Gerechtigkeit in Israel/Palästina JVJP Switzerland
61. KinderUSA
62. Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
63. La Coordinadora de Organizaciones para el Desarrollo (The Spanish Development NGO Platform)
64. Médecins du Monde International Network
65. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
66. MedGlobal
67. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)
68. medico international
69. medico international schweiz
70. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
71. Middle East Children’s Alliance
72. MPower Change Action Fund
73. Muslim Aid
74. Nonviolent Peaceforce
75. NORWAC – Norwegian Aid Committee
76. Norwegian Church Aid
77. Norwegian People's Aid (NPA)
78. Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
79. Oxfam
80. Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
81. PANZMA - Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association
82. PARCIC
83. Pax Christi International
84. PAX for Peace
85. Peace Watch Switzerland
86. People in Need (PIN)
87. Plan International
88. Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH)
89. Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs
90. Premiere Urgence Internationale (PUI)
91. Project HOPE
92. Relief International
93. Right to Play
94. Sabeel-Kairos UK
95. Saferworld
96. Save the Children International
97. Secours Islamique France (SIF)
98. Solidar Suisse
99. Solidarités International
100. SWISSAID
101. Terre des Hommes Italy
102. Terre des Hommes Lausanne
103. The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET)
104. The United Church of Canada
105. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
106. Vento di Terra
107. War Child Alliance
108. Weltfriedensdienst e.V.