Gaza Herald_ The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has warned of a serious escalation carried out by Israeli occupation authorities in the Gaza Strip, as Israel ushered in 2026 by imposing a collective ban on the work of major international humanitarian organizations operating in the enclave.
In press statements issued on Thursday, the organization said that Israel’s decision to revoke the licenses of several international organizations working in Gaza and the West Bank constitutes a direct strangulation of the humanitarian response and a deliberate severing of life-saving aid pathways, through a licensing system that clearly violates international law.
Targeting the Backbone of Humanitarian Response
Euro-Med Monitor explained that the decision specifically targets international humanitarian organizations that form the backbone of relief efforts in Gaza, particularly at a time when the role of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has been systematically undermined.
The organization stressed that this move accelerates the collapse of what remains of Gaza’s health and humanitarian systems and deepens the crime of genocide by deliberately creating living conditions aimed at destroying the population and pushing them toward forced displacement.
Collapse of Health and Nutrition Services
The ban on humanitarian organizations, Euro-Med Monitor said, will effectively result in the loss of vital medical capacities, potentially forcing the closure of one out of every three health facilities in Gaza. It noted that all five centers treating severe acute malnutrition rely entirely on support from these organizations.
Erasing International Presence in Gaza
The organization warned that the removal of the already limited international presence in Gaza is being carried out under bureaucratic cover, to tighten the isolation of the population and strip them of any external presence capable of providing humanitarian support or independent oversight.
According to Euro-Med Monitor, these measures are fundamentally designed to deprive Palestinians of their last means of survival and resilience by paralyzing humanitarian work, cutting off aid channels, and blocking access to life-saving assistance.
Weaponizing Bureaucracy
Euro-Med Monitor explained that the new conditions imposed by Israel on the registration of international organizations go far beyond administrative or technical requirements. Instead, they are built on a system of conditionality used as tools of acceptance or exclusion, incorporating punitive criteria.
The organization added that Israeli claims about the existence of “humanitarian alternatives” are misleading, given the absence of any local or international entity with the logistical capacity or infrastructure to fill the resulting vacuum, especially amid increasing restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on humanitarian operations.
Violation of International Court Orders
Euro-Med Monitor emphasized that the decision directly contradicts the binding provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice on March 28, 2024, which ordered Israel to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the provision of basic services to the civilian population.
Call for International Action
The organization concluded by calling on the international community to move beyond statements of concern and condemnation and toward concrete, binding enforcement measures that would put an end to the ongoing grave violations in the Gaza Strip and affirm the illegality of Israel’s decision.
