Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has issued a stark warning regarding its operations in the Gaza Strip. The organization’s president, Isabelle Defourny, stated on Saturday that MSF may be forced to cease its activities in Gaza by March if Israel does not reverse its decision to ban the organization, along with 36 other entities.
Israel confirmed on Thursday that it would implement a ban on 37 major international humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip. This decision stems from the organizations’ alleged failure to provide lists of their Palestinian staff members, as required by new legislation.
MSF has strongly condemned this decision, calling it an “outrageous overreach.” Defourny explained that “to work in the occupied Palestinian territories, the names of staff must be registered, and this registration expired in December 2025.”
MSF maintains a significant presence in Gaza, with approximately 40 international staff members working alongside 800 Palestinian colleagues across eight hospitals. Defourny noted that “we still have international staff who were recently able to enter Gaza in the past few days.”
The organization plays a crucial role in providing essential services to the Gazan population. “We are the second-largest distributor of water in the Gaza Strip,” Defourny stated. “In 2025, we treated just over 100,000 people with burns or various injuries, and we are also second in terms of the number of births we assist.”
Defourny suggested that the Israeli decision is motivated by the fact that non-governmental organizations “bear witness to the violence perpetrated by the Israeli army” in Gaza. She further asserted that “international journalists have never been allowed to enter Gaza, while the Israeli army targets and kills local journalists.”
She highlighted the significant toll on humanitarian workers, stating that “more than 500 humanitarian workers – including 15 members of Doctors Without Borders – have been killed” in Israeli airstrikes since October 2023. The potential cessation of MSF’s operations would have a devastating impact on the already vulnerable population of Gaza, further straining the healthcare system and limiting access to essential medical services.
