JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Tuesday said it had suspended more than
two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE, from operating in
the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules.
Israel says the rules are aimed at preventing
Hamas and other militant groups from infiltrating the aid organizations. But the organizations say the rules are arbitrary and warned that the new ban would harm a civilian population desperately in need of humanitarian aid.
Israel has claimed throughout the war that Hamas was siphoning off aid supplies, a charge the U.N. and aid groups have denied. The new rules, announced by Israel early this year, require aid organizations to register the names of their workers and provide details about funding and operations in order to continue working in Gaza.
The new regulations included ideological requirements — including disqualifying organizations that have called for boycotts against Israel, denied the Oct. 7 attack or expressed support for any of the international court cases against Israeli soldiers or leaders.