Aid Groups Accuse Israel of ‘Weaponising’ Humanitarian Assistance in Gaza

Jerusalem: More than 100 nonprofit organisations have accused Israel of “weaponising aid” in Gaza, warning that new rules for relief operations will block life- saving supplies, compromise staff safety, and replace independent humanitarian work with entities serving Israel’s political and military agenda. Israel has firmly rejected the allegations. In a joint letter released Thursday, aid groups including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, and CARE condemned regulations introduced by Israel in March requiring organisations to submit full donor lists and the names of all Palestinian staff for government vetting. The groups say these rules risk exposing staff to harm and could give Israel sweeping grounds to deny aid if an organisation is deemed to “delegitimise” the country or back boycotts and divestment campaigns. According to the signatories, the measures are designed “to control independent organisations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting.” They further argued that the rules violate European data privacy laws, and in some cases, aid groups have been given as little as seven days to comply. The Israeli military body responsible for overseeing aid to Gaza, COGAT, dismissed the claims, alleging that some NGOs serve as a cover for Hamas to divert aid for military purposes. “The refusal of some international organisations to provide the information and cooperate with the registration process raises serious concerns about their true intention,” COGAT said in a statement. It insisted that any delays in aid deliveries occur only when groups fail to meet “basic security requirements intended to prevent Hamas’s involvement.” Israel has long accused aid organisations and UN agencies of bias in their reporting on the conflict. Aid groups say that since Israel’s blockade of Gaza began in March, the vast majority of them have been unable to deliver even “a single truck” of relief. With tens of thousands dead, most of Gaza’s population displaced, and famine looming, the limited number of trucks allowed in, mainly by UN agencies and a handful of NGOs, falls far short of the need. Tensions have also risen over the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US -backed body Israel supports as the main aid distributor in the territory. The foundation, intended to replace the UN-led aid delivery system, has been internationally criticised after hundreds of Palestinians were killed while trying to obtain food near its distribution sites. Israel has pressed UN agencies to accept military escorts for deliveries, an offer the agencies have largely rejected on the grounds of maintaining neutrality. This standoff has become central to the dispute: Israel insists it facilitates all aid that meets its criteria, while aid groups say essential supplies remain stranded at border crossings. “Oxfam has over $2.5 million worth of goods that have been rejected from entering Gaza by Israel, especially WASH [water, sanitation and hygiene] items as well as food,” said Bushra Khalidi, an Oxfam official in Gaza. She warned that humanitarian agencies’ ability to continue operating “may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out.” The letter’s signatories maintain that without immediate changes, aid access will remain hostage to political conditions, deepening Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and eroding the neutrality of international relief work.