Humanitarian organisations warn new Israeli regulations are choking Gaza aid
The humanitarian organisations blame new INGO registration rules introduced in March, which allow Israel to deny access based on vague criteria such as alleged "delegitimisation" of the state, or to demand sensitive data, including donor lists and full details of Palestinian staff for "security vetting."
More than 100 humanitarian organisations have accused Israel of blocking life-saving aid into Gaza through new registration rules and other bureaucratic barriers, warning that "engineered mass starvation" is unfolding in the enclave.
In a joint statement, the groups, including Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), CARE and Anera, said Israeli authorities have rejected dozens of requests to deliver food, medicine, water and shelter items into Gaza, claiming the organisations are "not authorised" to operate in the area.
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In July alone, over 60 requests were denied, leaving millions of dollars' worth of supplies stranded in Jordan, Egypt and Israeli ports.
"Anera has over $7 million (Sh904 million) worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza, including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometres away," said Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera.
CARE also reported being unable to move $1.5 million (Sh193.9 million) worth of pre-positioned food parcels, medical supplies and hygiene kits since Israel imposed a full siege on Gaza on March 2.
Similarly, Oxfam said $2.5 million (Sh322.8 million) in water, sanitation and hygiene products had been rejected by Israeli authorities.
The humanitarian organisations blame new INGO registration rules introduced in March, which allow Israel to deny access based on vague criteria such as the demand for sensitive data, including donor lists and full details of Palestinian staff for "security vetting."
"Unless INGOs 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, 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 group said.
"Some organisations have even been issued a seven-day ultimatum to provide Palestinian staff lists."
According to the NGOs, withholding such information is vital to protect staff since 98 per cent of aid workers killed in Gaza have been Palestinian.
The organisations subsequently urged the international community to pressure Israel to end the weaponisation of aid, scrap the registration procedures and immediately open all land crossings to allow thousands of waiting trucks into Gaza.
The statement also denounced Israel's Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) food distribution scheme, calling it a "deadly tool of control" that has left at least 859 Palestinians dead around its sites.
"The militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation and curated suffering," said Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza.
"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."
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