Eight NGOs refuse Israel's demand for staff data in Gaza

Eight international NGOs said they would refuse to provide information about their staff in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to Israel, defying new registration requirements as Tel Aviv continues to restrict the flow of aid into the besieged enclave.

The eight organisations are ActionAid, Alianza por la Solidaridad, Médecins du Monde, Médicos del Mundo, Première Urgence Internationale, the American Friends Service Committee, medico international, and Medical Aid for Palestinians.

Their stance follows similar decisions by Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

The move comes after Israel in January withdrew the licences of 37 aid groups, citing their refusal to share detailed information about staff, operations, and funding for what Israeli authorities allege to be "security and transparency" reasons.

The data demanded includes personal details about staff members’ children and relatives, passport information, and CVs.

Palestinians and rights groups have long warned that such information could be used to target humanitarian workers and further obstruct aid operations. Israel has killed at least 550 aid workers in Gaza since the start of the war on the Strip, including 15 MSF staff members.

Israel has also said it will bar humanitarian organisations from operating in Gaza if they are deemed to be “delegitimising Israel”.

Several aid organisations issued statements reaffirming their refusal and calling on Israel to allow emergency assistance to enter Gaza without obstruction, as stipulated under the ceasefire agreement.

In a statement shared with The New Arab, ActionAid said: “We cannot accept the new registration requirements being imposed, which form part of a relentless campaign to undermine and dismantle the systems that sustain Palestinian life, including humanitarian and civil society efforts.”

“These measures would compel us to hand over sensitive personal data of Palestinian staff and their families and to accept political and ideological conditions unrelated to humanitarian work, violating our duty of care, international data-protection standards, labour laws, and core humanitarian principles,” the organisation added.

In a separate statement shared with The New Arab, MSF said it had been attempting for months to engage with Israeli authorities but had received no assurances regarding staff safety or data protection.

“MSF did not hand over staff names because Israeli authorities failed to provide the concrete assurances required to guarantee our staff’s safety, protect their personal data, and uphold the independence of our medical operations,” the statement said, describing Israel’s demands as a pretext to halt humanitarian assistance.

MSF said it remained open to dialogue with Israeli authorities to maintain critical care in Gaza and the West Bank, while calling for the removal of obstacles to humanitarian operations and the entry of more medical teams and supplies.

“Israeli authorities have a responsibility to facilitate humanitarian aid, not hinder or weaponise it,” the statement added.

Another aid group, Médecins du Monde, said humanitarian access “is not optional, conditional, or political”, stressing that Israel is unconditionally obliged under international humanitarian law to facilitate relief efforts.

Last week, UK-based charity Oxfam also refused to disclose personal details of its staff to Israel, citing repeated Israeli attacks on humanitarian workers.

“We will not transfer sensitive personal data to a party to the conflict, as this would breach humanitarian principles, duty of care, and data protection obligations,” the organisation said, calling on Israel to halt measures targeting NGOs.

Israel’s new regulations governing NGOs operating in Gaza also ban organisations deemed to support “armed struggle by an enemy state or a terrorist organisation”, or those accused of denying Israel’s existence or the Holocaust.

The rules have drawn international condemnation as Gaza continues to face a deepening humanitarian crisis after more than two years of war.

Late on Monday, MSF warned that Israel’s ban on its operations could have catastrophic consequences for civilians in Gaza.

MSF secretary-general Christopher Lockyear said that if Israel had evidence linking staff to Hamas, it should be shared. “There’s been no proof given to us,” he said.