Palestinians gather around meals prepared by a charity kitchen in the Nusseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, on December 20, 2025. EYAD BABA / AFP
On December 31, several dozen international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) expect to find out whether Israel will permit them to operate in the Gaza Strip. Most of these humanitarian actors have been present on the ground for years, with mandatory accreditation from Israeli authorities.
In a joint statement published on December 17 with more than 200 international and Palestinian organizations, United Nations agencies warned that their exclusion would have "a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services" needed by some two million Palestinians surviving amid ruins, winter floods and a fragile ceasefire after two years of a devastating war waged by the Israeli army following the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023.
In the spring, Israel changed the registration process for humanitarian organizations, making it the responsibility of the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. Le Monde found that NGOs are currently under heavy pressure from COGAT, the Israeli military body supervising civilian activities in the Palestinian territories, which is part of the committee overseeing applications.
