37 NGO’s BANNED IN GAZA: seeing Gaza through the eyes of scripture

Israel formally announced the ban on 37 NGOs in Gaza at the end of December 2025, with the restrictions taking effect from January 1, 2026. The government set a deadline of midnight, December 31, 2025, for organisations to comply with new rules requiring detailed disclosure of Palestinian staff. When those groups refused, the ban was enforced starting the next day.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

• December 31, 2025: Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs declared that 37 NGOs had failed to meet new “security and transparency standards.”
• January 1, 2026: Israel confirmed the ban, stating that these organisations must cease operations in Gaza.
• March 1, 2026 (deadline): Reports note that NGOs were required to fully halt activities by this date, giving a short transition window.

In response to the ban, pro-Israel voices were quick to downplay the decision, insisting that these groups represent barely 15% of the International NGOs in Gaza and account for less than 1% of all the aid provided to its people.  Such claims, however, serve as yet another form of denial—an attempt to obscure the reality of a genocide unfolding and the systematic killing of Palestinians in Gaza.

HERE ARE THE FACTS:

Reports indicate that there were about 90 international NGOs active before the ban, meaning roughly 53 remain. The banned organisations accounted for around 40–45% of total humanitarian aid delivery, so the loss is very significant.

Breakdown of the Situation

• Total NGOs before ban: 90
• Banned NGOs: 37
• Remaining NGOs: 53
• Aid contribution lost:
• Estimated 40–45% of humanitarian assistance, including food, medical supplies, and shelter.

Here’s a breakdown of the major groups that were barred and the type of support they provided in Gaza:

Medical & Health Care

• Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) – Provided emergency surgery, trauma care, and primary health services.
• Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) – Supported psychosocial care, shelter, and protection services.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC) – Focused on emergency medical supplies and health system support.

Food & Nutrition

• Action Against Hunger (ACF) – Distributed food parcels and ran nutrition programs for children.
• Oxfam – Provided food aid, clean water, and sanitation projects.
• CARE International – Delivered food baskets and supported women-led food security initiatives.

Shelter & Infrastructure

• Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – Helped rebuild homes and provided emergency shelter kits.
• Mercy Corps – Focused on shelter, water, and sanitation infrastructure.
• Danish Refugee Council (DRC) – Offered shelter, protection, and livelihood support.

Water & Sanitation

• WaterAid – Improved access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
• Norwegian Church Aid – Ran water purification and hygiene programs.

Education & Child Protection

• Save the Children – Ran child protection programs, education, and psychosocial support.
• World Vision – Supported schools, child nutrition, and trauma counseling.
• Plan International – Focused on education and child rights advocacy.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Humanitarian impact: The banned groups include major players like Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and others that provided critical medical and logistical support.
Operational gap: With nearly half of the aid capacity removed, the remaining NGOs will struggle to meet Gaza’s needs, especially given the destruction of infrastructure.
Political context: Israel justified the ban on grounds of “security and transparency standards,” but aid groups and the UN warn this will deepen the humanitarian crisis.

FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

The difficulty in framing this political decision within a Christian context is that we often quantify it by numbers and not qualify it by people.  We reduce human suffering to statistics—percentages and numbers—rather than seeing the people behind them. Whether it is 1%, 10%, or 100% makes no difference. Scripture is clear: if even one person is deprived of food, it is as though Christ himself has been left hungry.

For those who made and defend this decision, there will be only one consequence regardless of whether one is Jew, Christian, or atheist.

As Matthew 25 declares:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him (including Israel), and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave m… look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31–46)