Israel is moving to terminate Doctors Without Borders (MSF) from acting in Gaza, announcing all operations will cease on February 28, 2026.
This comes despite MSF's claims just last week that it would provide the employee lists required by Israel in order to continue working in Gaza as an NGO.
The Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry said that, in early January 2026, MSF committed to transferring employee lists in accordance with procedure requirements, and said these lists would be submitted by Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
MSF refused to transfer lists
However, despite its public commitment, the ministry said "the organization refrained from transferring the lists."
"Subsequently, MSF announced it does not intend to proceed with the registration process at all, contradicting its previous statements and the binding protocol."
Given its failure to comply, it will not be able to operate after the final day of February.
"Unfortunately, MSF is once again demonstrating a lack of transparency and acting out of irrelevant interests," said Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli. "The organization abruptly changed its position after publicly committing to act according to procedure."
"We are aware that MSF employs individuals active in terrorist organizations, which is why it hides its employee lists. The organization operates in coordination with the Hamas Ministry of Health, and not by coincidence, its statements were published in proximity to similar statements from elements within the Strip."
On Friday, MSF said it would not provide the staff lists, citing an inability to secure assurances about the safety of its teams as the reason for its decision. The announcement came just one week after MSF had agreed to share staff lists with Israeli authorities.
"After many months of unsuccessful engagement with Israeli authorities and without securing guarantees for the safety of our staff or the independent management of our operations, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has decided not to share a list of its Palestinian and international staff with Israeli authorities under the current circumstances," the organization stated at the time.