Aid groups call on Israel to end 'weaponization' of aid in Gaza
[August 14, 2025]
By SAM METZ
JERUSALEM (AP) — More than 100 nonprofit groups warned Thursday that
Israel’s rules for aid groups working in the Gaza Strip and occupied
West Bank will block much-needed relief and replace independent
organizations with those that serve Israel's political and military
agenda — charges that Israel denied.
A letter signed by organizations including Oxfam, Doctors Without
Borders and CARE accused Israel of “weaponizing aid” as people starve in
war-torn Gaza and using it as a tool to entrench control.
The groups were responding to registration rules announced by Israel in
March that require organizations to hand over full lists of their donors
and Palestinian staff for vetting.
The groups contend that doing so could endanger their staff and give
Israel broad grounds to block aid if groups are deemed to be
“delegitimizing” the country or supporting boycotts or divestment.
The registration measures were “designed to control independent
organizations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting,”
they said.
The letter added that the rules violate European data privacy
regulations, noting that in some cases aid groups have been given only
seven days to comply.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza,
denied the letter’s claims. It alleged the groups were being used as
cover by Hamas to “exploit the aid to strengthen its military
capabilities and consolidate its control” in Gaza.
“The refusal of some international organizations to provide the
information and cooperate with the registration process raises serious
concerns about their true intention,” it said in a statement on
Thursday. “The alleged delay in aid entry … occurs only when
organizations choose not to meet the basic security requirements
intended to prevent Hamas’s involvement.”
Israel has long claimed that aid groups and United Nations agencies
issue biased assessments.
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The aid groups stressed on Thursday that most of them haven’t been
able to deliver “a single truck” of life-saving assistance since
Israel implemented a blockade in March.
A vast majority of aid isn’t reaching civilians in Gaza, where tens
of thousands have been killed, most of the population has been
displaced and famine looms. U.N. agencies and a small number of aid
groups have resumed delivering assistance, but say the number of
trucks allowed in remains far from sufficient.
Meanwhile, tensions have flared over Israel and the United States
backing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to serve as the main
distributor of aid in the besieged territory. The American
contractor, meant to replace the traditional U.N.-led aid
distribution system in Gaza, has faced international condemnation
after hundreds of Palestinians were killed while trying to get food
near its distribution sites.
Israel has pressed U.N. agencies to accept military escorts to
deliver goods into Gaza, a demand the agencies have largely
rejected, citing their commitment to neutrality. The standoff has
been the source of competing claims: Israel maintains it allows aid
into Gaza that adheres to its rules, while aid groups that have long
operated in Gaza decry the amount of life-saving supplies stuck at
border crossings.
“Oxfam has over $2.5 million worth of goods that have been rejected
from entering Gaza by Israel, especially WASH (water, sanitation and
hygiene) items as well as food,” said Bushra Khalidi, an aid
official with Oxfam in Gaza.
Aid groups' “ability to operate may come at the cost of their
independence and ability to speak out,” she added.
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