More than 100 nonprofit organizations warned Thursday that Israel's regulations for aid groups operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank would hinder critical relief efforts and replace independent groups with ones aligned to Israel's political and military agenda.
At the same time, hospital officials reported more deaths from Israeli airstrikes and an increasing toll from malnutrition.
The mounting backlash over aid restrictions and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza have been cited by several countries as a factor in their moves toward recognizing Palestinian statehood. Yet on Thursday, Israel advanced plans for a new settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, with one far-right government minister describing the move as a way to "bury the idea of a Palestinian state."
The nonprofit groups, including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and CARE, were responding to registration rules announced by Israel in March that require organizations to hand over full lists of their donors and Palestinian staff for vetting. They contend doing so could endanger their staff and give Israel broad grounds to block aid if groups are deemed to be "delegitimizing" the country or supporting boycotts or divestment.
