Examining the Organizations Israel Banned From Gaza Over Terror Infiltration
Israel banned 37 Gaza-based aid groups after uncovering systematic infiltration by terror operatives, and following their refusal to comply with new transparency measures
Israel announced Tuesday that it will suspend operations of 37 humanitarian organizations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank starting January 1, 2026, citing national security concerns, evidence of terrorist infiltration within aid groups, and a refusal to abide by necessary transparency measures. Suspended organizations include Doctors Without Borders (MSF), World Vision, several affiliates of Oxfam, and Mercy Corps, after they failed to meet the new Israeli vetting requirements.
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) stated that the suspended organizations “contribute less than 1% of the total aid going into the Gaza Strip,” and that humanitarian assistance will continue through organizations that successfully completed the new registration process.
The new vetting rules required nonprofits to submit comprehensive staff lists, including all foreign and Palestinian employees with their passport and personal identification numbers, for Israeli security screening.
Systematic Hamas Infiltration of Aid Organizations
The Israeli decision comes after the release of declassified Hamas documents obtained during military operations in Gaza, which reveal the terrorist organization’s systematic infiltration of international humanitarian organizations. The documents, published by the NGO Monitor watchdog organization, demonstrate that “NGOs in Gaza do not operate independently or neutrally,” but instead function within “an institutionalized framework of coercion, intimidation, and surveillance that serves Hamas’ terror.”
The seized documents detail how Hamas embedded operatives within aid organizations, designated “guarantors” inside major international NGOs, and used blackmail to ensure compliance with Hamas directives. Below are examples of several NGOs suspended by Israel from entering Gaza, which are directly implicated in the internal Hamas documents published by NGO Monitor.
Terror Ties of Suspended NGOs
1. Doctors Without Borders
Investigations revealed multiple terror connections within MSF operations. Most significantly, MSF staff member Fadi Al-Wadiya, eliminated in an Israeli drone strike in June 2024, was identified as a “member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad responsible for developing the terror group’s missiles,” by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which released pictures of him clad in terrorist attire and participating in meetings with other members of the group.
The organization has also allegedly provided funding to the Abdel Shafi Community Health Association (ACHA), which was “founded and is directed by senior members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).” MSF Deputy Cell Manager Amber Alayyan confirmed that MSF “emptied our stocks to give to the [Gaza] Ministry of Health,” which us run by Hamas.
Former MSF Secretary-General Alain Destexhe has publicly accused the organization of becoming “accomplices of Hamas,” stating that MSF has abandoned its neutral humanitarian principles.
2. World Vision International
The largest documented case of aid diversion involves World Vision’s Gaza operations. Mohammed El-Halabi, former head of World Vision's Gaza office, was convicted in June 2022 on 13 counts of terrorism-related charges, including membership in a terrorist organization and financing terrorism. He is alleged to have diverted approximately $50 million in humanitarian aid to Hamas over several years.
The court determined that funds intended for humanitarian assistance were instead used to build military installations, dig tunnels, purchase weapons, and support Hamas military operations.
3. Handicap International (Humanity & Inclusion)
According to NGO Monitor, a December 2022 internal memo from the Hamas Ministry of Interior and National Security (MoINS) revealed that Handicap International’s Gazan Director” is affiliated with the Hamas movement.”
4. Medical Aid for Palestinians UK
According to NGO Monitor, MAP-UK’s administrative director in Gaza works in “the positive” – a known term for Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The aforementioned internal Hamas memo states that he “is affiliated with Hamas and has pledged allegiance to its rule,” is employed at the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University of Gaza, and maintains social ties primarily within the Hamas movement.
5. Defense for Children International - Palestine
DCI-P has been declared as a terrorist organization by Israel’s Defense Ministry due to its extensive ties to the PFLP. According to NGO Monitor, multiple DCI-P board members and staff have documented PFLP affiliations, including Hashem Abu Maria, who served as DCI-P’s coordinator of community mobilization and was memorialized by the PFLP as a “comrade” and “leader,” and Riyad Arar, Director of DCI-P’s Child Protection Program, who addressed a December 2014 PFLP memorial event alongside senior PFLP official Badran Jaber.
6. Oxfam Novib
The Dutch affiliate of Oxfam International, Oxfam Novib has a longstanding partnerships with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), which Israel designated as a terrorist organization in October 2021. UAWC is identified by Fatah as an official PFLP “affiliate” and by a USAID-engaged audit as the “PFLP’s agricultural organization.”
Samer Arbid, UAWC’s financial director, was indicted for commanding the PFLP terror cell that carried out the August 2019 bombing that killed 17-year-old Rina Shnerb. Despite these documented terror ties, Oxfam participated in a €3.4 million European Union project between 2021-2025 as a co-implementing partner with UAWC in Gaza.