Israel Forcing Doctors Without Borders To Shut Down Gaza Operations by February 28

Israeli authorities have ordered the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to cease all operations in Gaza by February 28 as Israel continues to impede humanitarian relief efforts inside the Palestinian territory.

Israel said that it was shutting down MSF’s operations in Gaza due to its refusal to turn over the identities of its Palestinian staff, a requirement of Israel’s stringent new rules for NGO’s operating in the Palestinian territories, which MSF said are a clear pretext to obstruct humanitarian aid.

“This is a pretext to obstruct humanitarian assistance. Israeli authorities are forcing humanitarian organisations into an impossible choice between exposing staff to risk or interrupting critical medical care for people in desperate need,” MSF said in a statement in response to the Israeli order.