Doctors Without Borders said Sunday that Israel’s decision to shut down the group’s operations in Gaza was being used as a justification to obstruct humanitarian assistance aid to the war-devastated Palestinian territory.
"This is a pretext to obstruct humanitarian assistance. Israeli authorities are forcing humanitarian organizations into an impossible choice between exposing staff to risk or interrupting critical medical care for people in desperate need," MSF said in a statement.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel banned the activities of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Gaza Strip and ordered the organization to leave the enclave by Feb. 28.
Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which oversees dealings with humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza and the West Bank, said the decision was taken after the charity refused to submit its staff lists to Tel Aviv.
A ministry statement cited by Maariv newspaper said the MSF refused "to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organizations operating in the region."
