GENEVA, Jan 30 (KUNA) -- Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) decided not to share a list of its Palestinian and international staff in Palestine with Israeli occupation authorities as part of the registration process to work in Gaza and the West Bank.
"This decision comes after many months of unsuccessful engagement with Israeli authorities, and in the absence of securing assurances to ensure the safety of our staff and the independent management of our operations," a DSF statement said on Friday.
"MSF remains open to ongoing dialogue with Israeli authorities to maintain our critical medical operations in Palestine, and to ensure that MSF can continue delivering essential, lifesaving medical care to those in desperate need," according to the statement.
In March 2025, the Israeli occupation authorities announced that organizations seeking registration would be required to provide personal information about their staff. From the outset, MSF raised serious concerns about this request in a context like Gaza, where medical and humanitarian workers have been intimidated, arbitrarily detained, and attacked. Since October 2023, 1,700 health staff have been killed, as well as 15 MSF colleagues. On December 30, the Israeli occupation authorities announced that MSF's previous registration had lapsed and was therefore expected to cease operations within 60 days.
"In the absence of these clear assurances, we have concluded that we will not share staff information," the statement noted.
"In an effort to explore every possible option - however limited - to continue providing critical medical care, MSF informed Israeli authorities on January 23 that, as an exceptional measure, MSF would be prepared to share a defined list of Palestinian and international staff names, subject to clear parameters, with our staff safety at its core. "This position was defined following consultation with our Palestinian colleagues and with the clear understanding that no staff information would be shared without the express agreement of individuals concerned.
"However, despite repeated efforts, it became evident in recent days that we were unable to build engagement with Israeli authorities on the concrete assurances required. "These included that any staff information would be used only for its stated administrative purpose and would not put colleagues at risk; that MSF would retain full authority over all human resource matters and management of medical humanitarian supplies, and that all communications defaming MSF and undermining staff safety would cease.
"As a result, and in the absence of these clear assurances, we have concluded that we will not share staff information in the current circumstances. "No staff information has been shared with the Israeli authorities in this process. "In the midst of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and extreme violence against health care workers, Israeli authorities are forcing humanitarian organizations into an impossible choice: Share this information about our staff or interrupt critical medical care for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians," it added.
In 2025, MSF provided 800,000 consultations, assisted in 1 in 3 births, and supported 1 in 5 hospital beds - services that cannot be easily replaced.
If MSF is expelled from Gaza and the West Bank, it would have a devastating impact, especially as Palestinians face a brutal winter amid destroyed homes and urgent humanitarian needs. Humanitarian conditions remain extreme: Nearly 500 people have been killed since October and basic services including food, water, shelter, health care, fuel, and livelihoods have been largely destroyed. The health system is nearly non-functional, with many specialized services like burn care unavailable. In 2025, MSF provided 800,000 consultations, assisted in 1 in 3 births, and supported 1 in 5 hospital beds - services that cannot be easily replaced. (end) amk.rg.gb