Doctors Without Borders says may have to halt Gaza operations in March

“To work in Palestine, in the occupied Palestinian territories, we have to be registered…That registration expired on December 31, 2025,” said Isabelle Defourny, a physician and president of Doctors Without Borders France, on France Inter. 

“Since July 2025, we have been involved in a re-registration process and to date, we have not received a response. We still have 60 days during which we could work without being re-registered, and so we would have to end our activities in March,” if Israel maintains its decision, she said. 

Doctors Without Borders has around 40 international staff in the Gaza Strip and works with 800 Palestinian staff across eight hospitals. 

“We are the second-largest distributor of water (in the Gaza Strip). Last year, in 2025, we treated just over 100,000 people who were wounded, burned, or victims of various traumas. We are second in terms of the number of deliveries performed,” the president of Doctors Without Borders, France said.

According to her, the Israeli decision is explained by the fact that NGOs “bear witness to the violence committed by the Israeli army” in Gaza.