Israel rejected requests to bring aid into Gaza: International NGOs in joint letter

A new Israeli law regulating foreign NGOs has been increasingly used to deny their requests to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, according to a letter signed by more than a hundred NGOs, news agency AFP has reported. 

“The Israeli authorities have rejected the requests of dozens of NGOs to bring essential goods [to Gaza], claiming that these organisations are not authorised to provide aid,” the joint statement says. 

“Despite statements from Israeli authorities that there is no limit to the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, most major international NGOs have not been able to deliver a single truck of vital supplies since March 2,” the letter said.

According to the letter, whose signatories include Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), at least 60 aid requests for Gaza were rejected in July alone.

In March, the Israeli government approved a new set of rules for foreign non-governmental organisations working with Palestinians.

This law updates the framework governing how aid groups must register to maintain their status in Israel, as well as provisions specifying how their requests can be refused or their registration revoked.