GAZA CITY, Palestine: Palestinians in Gaza have begun 2026 facing deepening despair as Israel’s decision to revoke the licences of dozens of international aid organisations came into force, further restricting humanitarian access in the war-battered Palestinian territory.
Israel has deregistered 37 international non-governmental organisations, including Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF), as part of what critics say is a broader campaign to delegitimise organisations assisting Palestinians, including United Nations agencies.
Israel has accused some aid groups of failing to comply with its vetting procedures. However, many organisations have rejected the allegations as arbitrary and unsubstantiated.
More than two years of conflict, displacement and destruction have stripped away hopes of reconstruction and prosperity.
Daily life is now centred on basic survival: securing flour, food and water, finding tents to protect against winter cold, accessing medical care and enduring continued bombardment.
“We’re moving from one crisis to another,” said Sanaa Issa, a 41-year-old mother of seven in Gaza. She told Al Jazeera that she has carried full responsibility for her family since her husband was killed in an Israeli strike in November 2024.
“Responsibility for the children, displacement, securing food and drink, making tough decisions. Everything was required of me at once.”
End war and rebuild Gaza
Gaza’s Government Media Office said 2026 must mark a turning point. In a New Year statement, it called for an immediate end to Israeli “aggression and genocide” and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
The office urged the permanent opening of all crossing points to allow humanitarian aid, the launch of a “genuine reconstruction process”, and urgent support for Gaza’s exhausted health sector.
The Media Office also called for the provision of basic needs for displaced people and their safe return to their homes.
Aid agencies, it said, must be allowed to operate “without obstacles”, while Israel should be held “accountable for its crimes under international law”.
“Despite the magnitude of the tragedy, our Palestinian people remain steadfast in their right to life, freedom and dignity,” the statement said.
“They affirm that 2026 must be a year to end the suffering, not perpetuate it.”
Ceasefire violations
Meanwhile, Israeli military operations continued across parts of Gaza despite the US-brokered ceasefire.
Witnesses, cited by Anadolu Agency, said Israeli forces shelled several areas on Thursday, in what Palestinians described as further violations of a fragile ceasefire agreement.
Israeli fighter jets struck eastern Rafah in southern Gaza, while artillery fire and gunfire from military vehicles were reported.
In Gaza City, airstrikes and shelling hit the Zeitoun and Shujaiya neighbourhoods. Artillery fire was also reported in the eastern areas of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. No immediate casualty figures were available.
Israel maintains a military presence in more than 50 percent of Gaza, according to Palestinian sources, as cited by Anadolu.
Palestinians accuse Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire that halted a two-year war which, according to Gaza authorities, has killed more than 71,000 people, mostly women and children, and wounded over 171,000 since October 2023.
The Gaza government media office said at least 418 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,110 injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.
Aid ban draws international condemnation
The suspension of aid groups has drawn sharp criticism. The United Nations described the move as “outrageous”.
UN human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said it was the latest in a pattern of unlawful restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on humanitarian operations.
Former UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said Israel’s demand for the names of humanitarian workers was “nonsense” and warned that complying would set a dangerous precedent globally.
He said aid organisations face an acute dilemma between maintaining operational access and upholding humanitarian principles.
Meanwhile, 19 Israeli human rights organisations also condemned the deregistration decision, saying it violated humanitarian principles of neutrality and independence and “weaponised bureaucracy” to block life-saving assistance.
They called on Israel to immediately halt the process and allow aid agencies to operate safely.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres separately condemned amendments to an Israeli law targeting UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which seek to cut electricity and water to its facilities. He said the law violates UN legal protections and must be repealed.
