Image Source: BBC
Occupied Gaza – MSF Southern Africa Director of Advocacy and Analysis, Claire Waterhouse, has condemned Israel’s ban on Doctors Without Borders (MSF) operations in Gaza and the West Bank as a deliberate attempt to obstruct humanitarian assistance during an ongoing genocide.
The organisation, which has operated in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1988, now faces expulsion after refusing to submit staff lists to Israeli authorities without assurances of their safety.
The ban represents another pretext by the Israeli government to continue harming Palestinian civilians who desperately need medical care.
MSF’s presence has been critical to Gaza’s healthcare system, with the organisation delivering one in three births, conducting over 800,000 outpatient consultations, and performing more than 22,000 surgeries last year alone.
“It’s absolutely devastating for the people in the occupied Palestinian territories. We have been present in Gaza and in the West Bank since 1988. We’ve never had this level of problems, but there’s also never been this much need before,” Waterhouse said.
Impossible Choices Facing MSF
Israel’s ultimatum forced MSF into an impossible position: submit staff names by December 31st or face a ban. After consulting with Palestinian staff, the organisation refused to hand over lists without guarantees of non-interference or protection for its approximately 1,000 Gaza workers.
The consequences go well beyond medical care. MSF provides 700 million litres of clean water to Gaza’s population each month.
Without this support, waterborne diseases like cholera will spread quickly. Pregnant women, newborns, wounded people, and those needing mental health support face the worst of it.
“By not giving the list, we risk being banned, which has now happened, but we’d protect our staff. By giving the list, of course, we would endanger our amazing staff, and we have absolutely no interest in doing that,” Waterhouse said.
The ban hits 38 humanitarian organisations, threatening to wipe out all international medical assistance in Gaza.
Waterhouse called on governments worldwide—particularly traditional Israeli allies like Germany, the UK, and the US—to intervene now, warning that allowing countries to expel humanitarian actors sets a dangerous precedent that reaches far beyond Palestine.
