Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides a vast amount of critical healthcare in Gaza, Palestine, yet even this is not enough to meet people’s overwhelming needs. Israel is now taking steps to stop the work of MSF and other NGOs in Gaza and the West Bank, by threatening to withhold registration. This comes on top of the intimidation, pressure, and smear campaigns that we and other aid organisations have faced while working in, and speaking out about, Gaza and the West Bank. Below, MSF responds to frequently asked questions about the reality of our work on the ground.
FAQs
- What is MSF’s response to accusations by Israeli authorities that its medical work in Gaza is not significant or needed?
- Is it true that MSF will not cooperate with Israel?
- What is the status of MSF’s registration to operate in Gaza and the West Bank?
- What is the actual impact of this decision on MSF activities so far?
- Israel states that MSF didn’t comply with the registration rules. Is this true?
- Why is Israel demanding staff lists from NGOs?
- Israeli authorities claim that MSF staff have links to terrorism. How does MSF respond to this?
- Is it true that MSF has a relationship with Hamas in Gaza?
- What is MSF’s response to the allegation that aid does not reach people in need, but is instead taken by Hamas?
- Why does MSF condemn Israel but not Hamas?
- Did MSF teams treat any hostages or did MSF call for their release?
- How does MSF respond to accusations regarding its lack of neutrality?
- Why did MSF suspend and stop some medical activities at Nasser Hospital?
What is MSF’s response to accusations by Israeli authorities that its medical work in Gaza is not significant or needed?
In 2025 alone, MSF teams handled over 100,000 trauma cases; managed the care for over 400 hospital beds; performed 22,700 surgical operations on nearly 10,000 patients; carried out almost 800,000 outpatient consultations; administered 45,000 vaccinations; assisted in more than 10,000 births; provided more than 40,000 individual mental health sessions and group sessions for over 60,000 people; distributed more than 700 million litres of water and produced nearly 100 million litres of clean water. Many of the services provided by MSF are largely unavailable elsewhere in Gaza due to the destruction of the health system.
As of 1 January 2026, MSF’s registration is no longer valid, and we will be required to cease operations by 1 March 2026. If MSF loses access to Gaza, a large portion of people will lose access to critical medical care and water. MSF’s vital work serves nearly half a million people in Gaza.
In Gaza, MSF is currently supporting six public hospitals and running two field hospitals. We also support six general healthcare centres and run an inpatient feeding centre for people with malnutrition. MSF has recently opened six new medical points where we provide wound care and other general healthcare services.
MSF has been working in Palestine since 1988.
Is it true that MSF will not cooperate with Israel?
MSF continues to seek constructive engagement with Israeli authorities so that we can continue our activities in Gaza and the West Bank.
By accusing MSF, as well as other NGOs, of not cooperating and creating smear campaigns against aid organisations, Israel is using unfounded allegations to arbitrarily restrict access to critical care for
Palestinians and limit witnessing from independent organisations working on the ground. This type of accusation contributes to the delegitimisation of humanitarian workers who are delivering vital care and services under extremely challenging conditions.
We observe that such accusations fit within a long-standing pattern used by Israeli authorities, alongside numerous physical and bureaucratic obstacles, to restrict the entry and delivery of aid into Gaza. Similar tactics were used in 2024 against UNRWA. Allegations are used to justify actions which stand in clear contradiction to the Israeli government’s claims that it is facilitating the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.
Despite these challenges, MSF remains determined to identify all possible avenues to continue providing medical care in Palestine.
What is the status of MSF’s registration to operate in Gaza and the West Bank?
As of 1 January 2026, MSF’s registration to work in Gaza and the West Bank is no longer valid. As such, we are required to cease operations by 1 March 2026.
We are seeking avenues to ensure that our humanitarian response continues in Gaza and the West Bank. We are also engaging with the Israeli authorities to ensure we can continue our activities, the prevention of which is a direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2720 – which calls for the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.
For 2026, MSF has committed an estimated 100-120 million euros for our humanitarian response in Gaza.
What is the actual impact of this decision on MSF activities so far?
MSF remains fully operational in Gaza and the West Bank and continues to deliver critical medical care. However, as MSF’s registration in Israel expired on 31 December 2025, we are no longer authorised to import supplies or have international staff enter into Gaza. This deprives our medical teams of much-needed materials and technical skills.
We remain committed to providing assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and call on the Israeli authorities to reverse their decision about our registration and to put in place acceptable operating conditions, including guarantees for the safety of MSF staff and patients.
Israel states that MSF didn’t comply with the registration rules. Is this true?
MSF has been actively engaged with the registration process. We have already submitted the majority of the required information. Along with many other NGOs, MSF has safeguarding concerns around some of the information requested by Israel for registration. We repeatedly raised serious concerns and requested information about the request to share the staff list, particularly in the absence of guarantees regarding the use, security, and the protection of personal data in a context where humanitarian and healthcare workers are routinely exposed to harassment, detention, and direct attacks. These concerns are directly linked to our legal responsibilities as an employer. As such, we have particular concerns regarding the use, security, and protection of personal data that Israel is requesting for registration. MSF has proposed compromises but has not received a response from the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism.
Why is Israel demanding staff lists from NGOs?
Israel has asked international NGOs to submit lists of their Palestinian staff for vetting by its intelligence services. This request raises serious concerns, as it may contravene Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law and undermine core humanitarian principles. Moreover, the purpose and potential consequences of this vetting process remain unclear.
Fifteen MSF colleagues have been killed by Israeli forces. In any context – and especially in one where medical and humanitarian workers have been intimidated, arbitrarily detained, attacked, and killed in large numbers – demanding staff lists as a condition for access to a territory is an overreach that undermines humanitarian independence and neutrality. This is made even more dangerous by the lack of clarity about how such sensitive data would be used, stored, or shared. Rather than engaging with MSF to address these concerns, the Ministry responsible for the registration process has ignored repeated requests for a meeting and has falsely accused us in the media of knowingly hiring individuals involved in armed activity.
Israeli authorities claim that MSF staff have links to terrorism. How does MSF respond to this?
These allegations are dangerous and endanger our vital work in Gaza. MSF would never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity. Any employee with links to an armed group would pose a serious risk to our staff and to our patients. For this reason, wherever we operate, all MSF staff are required to commit to the MSF Charter, which includes strict adherence to humanitarian principles, independence, and medical ethics.
Recruitment procedures include rigorous due diligence, background and reference checks, CV verification, and probationary periods. MSF has implemented an enhanced screening and vetting process for all staff recruited in this context. As everywhere else, MSF operates strictly in accordance with the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence, providing medical care based on need alone, irrespective of political authority or affiliation. Our support to the health system in Gaza is purely humanitarian and in no way ideological.
Is it true that MSF has a relationship with Hamas in Gaza?
MSF works with the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is part of the Hamas Civilian Administration. The current smear campaign against aid organisations by Israeli authorities’ states that “MSF shares information with a terrorist organisation”, when in fact coordinating with medical authorities is standard practice in any place where we operate. These smear tactics attempt to distract attention away from the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground. As everywhere, MSF operates strictly in accordance with the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence, providing medical care based on need alone, irrespective of political authority or affiliation.
What is MSF’s response to the allegation that aid does not reach people in need, but is instead taken by Hamas?
Our operations are independent, transparent, and strictly monitored. A USAID review found no evidence of widescale diversion of humanitarian aid by Hamas in Gaza. Senior Israeli army officers have also acknowledged that there is no evidence of systematic widescale diversion of humanitarian aid by Hamas in Gaza.
From the beginning of this war, the number of trucks carrying medicine, food, and water which have crossed the borders into Gaza have been entirely insufficient, in comparison to the scale of destruction and need. During the past two years, we have communicated and documented the ways in which Gaza’s supply chain of humanitarian aid has been effectively choked by Israeli authorities. Lengthy bureaucratic procedures and “dual-use items” lists have been put in place. The “dual-use item” prohibition is why some items have not been allowed to enter Gaza, including scalpels and oxygen generators.
Why does MSF condemn Israel but not Hamas?
We were horrified by the mass killing of 1,200 people in Israel by Hamas, and we unequivocally condemn those attacks. We are horrified by the spiral of violence and the tragedies on both sides. Our communications are driven by what our medical teams see on the ground and their work in the medical facilities we support. Hence, we have been speaking out about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We speak out when we witness unacceptable suffering, attacks on healthcare facilities, the denial of access to healthcare facilities, and when warring parties fail to protect civilians.
Did MSF teams treat any hostages or did MSF call for their release?
Throughout our activities in Gaza since 7 October 2023, we have never encountered a patient who was presented as being among the hostages. Our work as medics is to provide healthcare to anyone who needs it – any patient is a patient. It is a fundamental principle of medical ethics to provide medical care in the best interest of any patient. We feel for the suffering endured by those who were taken hostage on 7 October 2023, as well as the anguish of their loved ones. Not only since October 2023 but in all contexts and in any situation of conflict, MSF calls for the protection of civilians.
How does MSF respond to accusations regarding its lack of neutrality?
United under a single charter, MSF teams bring together health professionals, logisticians, and administrative staff from dozens of nationalities, both expatriates and locally employed. After assessing the needs of affected communities, we provide assistance in accordance with medical ethics and the principles of humanitarian action.
Impartiality is the cornerstone of MSF’s mission. We deliver aid without discrimination, prioritising those most immediately at risk. MSF operates with a spirit of neutrality and does not take sides in armed conflicts. However, we may publicly denounce and criticise obstacles to our humanitarian work and violations of international law.
In conflict situations, MSF bears witness to the plight of victims, particularly civilians, and in this respect, we are outspoken.
Our teams report what they see with their own eyes, and what they themselves experience, in Gaza and the West Bank. Numerous observers, legal experts, human rights organisations, and several United Nations reports also describe the total destruction of the Gaza Strip. This includes Israel’s dismantling of the health system, siege imposed on the territory, disregard for civilians and civilian infrastructure, and man-made famine, which are all part of a genocidal campaign.
Why did MSF suspend and stop some medical activities at Nasser Hospital?
MSF made the difficult decision to suspend all non-critical medical operations in Nasser Hospital, the largest functional facility in Gaza, as of 20 January 2026 due to concerns regarding the management of the structure, the safeguarding of its neutrality and security breaches.
In recent months, in Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, patients and MSF personnel have seen armed men, some masked, in the different areas of the large compound of the hospital. This had not been in areas where MSF has activities, but in other parts of the hospital compound. With an uptick since the ceasefire, MSF teams have reported a pattern of unacceptable acts including the presence of armed men, intimidation, arbitrary arrests of patients and a recent situation of suspicion of movement of weapons. These incidents pose serious security threats to our teams and patients.
MSF formally expressed its strong concern to the relevant authorities and emphasised the incompatibility of such violations with MSF’s medical mission. Hospitals must remain neutral, civilian spaces, free from military presence or activity, to ensure the safe and impartial delivery of medical care.
MSF’s concerns are heightened by past attacks on hospitals during the conflict, as health facilities have been regularly and deliberately targeted by the Israeli forces, resulting in loss of life and damage to infrastructure. MSF calls on all armed groups, as well as Israeli forces, to respect medical facilities and ensure the protection of staff and patients.
Which medical activities have been stopped or suspended?
We have put an end to all the support to the paediatric and maternity wards, including to the neonatal intensive care unit. We have also suspended indefinitely our outpatient consultations, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, 3D burn screening and mental health activities.
Are there any medical activities MSF continues to support at Nasser Hospital?
We continue to support some critical activities at Nasser Hospital, including the inpatient and surgical departments for patients with orthopaedic, traumatic or burn
injuries until further notice, as in these departments patients’ lives entirely depend on MSF care.
Has MSF seen tunnels and military activities being planned in Nasser hospital?
No. Had MSF staff seen any of these we would have immediately taken the decision to leave.
MSF staff have witnessed a limited number of incidents, including the presence of armed individuals within hospital compounds. However, based on MSF’s direct observations, we do not have sufficient evidence to conclude that the hospital was being used by armed groups for military purposes, such as serving as bases or sites for organized military operations.
These isolated incidents, including reports of armed personnel, do not change the status of hospitals and health facilities which are protected under international law. Nasser Hospital is a vital lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza. We call on all armed groups, Hamas and Israeli forces, to ensure the protection of civilians and not add further suffering on top of all that people in Gaza have experienced.
Why has MSF not communicated previously about the presence of armed individuals in Nasser?
MSF has communicated directly with relevant authorities in each case where we have witnessed such incidents. The frequency of such events has increased since the ceasefire. Violence, intimidation, or presence of armed men in health facilities, pose unacceptable risks to patients and staff in an already devastated health system. Hospitals and medical staff and personnel are protected under international law and we firmly condemn any action that hinders our work and the effective delivery of healthcare.
Will MSF consider resuming activities to Nasser Hospital in the future?
We continue to support some critical activities at Nasser Hospital, including the inpatient and surgical departments for patients with orthopaedic, traumatic or burn injuries until further notice, as in these departments patients’ lives entirely depend on MSF care. MSF will continue to engage with the Ministry of Health and request the protection of hospitals and health facilities including Nasser Hospital.
We will continue to assess risks to the neutrality of these spaces and the security of our staff and patients and plan our medical activities accordingly. Unfortunately, at this time we cannot confirm resumption of the other activities until we have obtained the necessary safeguards. Our priority remains to ensure the safe delivery of medical care to people in Gaza and respond to massive humanitarian needs.
