MSF calls for massive aid scale-up in Gaza amid 'catastrophic' conditions

International medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has called for a massive scale-up of lifesaving assistance and unhindered humanitarian access in Gaza, warning that catastrophic conditions persist amid ongoing violence and aid restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities.

Despite a 1 March 2026 deadline requiring 37 NGOs to leave the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), MSF said it remains committed to continuing its operations under its registration with the Palestinian Authority for as long as possible.

Under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, is obliged to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance. However, MSF said new restrictive rules threaten to drastically reduce already insufficient aid. The organisation urged governments worldwide to ensure that decisions of the International Court of Justice are respected, including those facilitating humanitarian access.

"MSF is working to preserve services for patients in an increasingly constrained environment," said Christopher Lockyear, MSF Secretary General. 

"The needs are immense, and drastic restrictions have deadly consequences. Hundreds of thousands of patients need medical and mental health care, and tens of thousands require long-term medical, surgical and psychological follow-up."

MSF said that despite a US-led peace plan, Israeli authorities continue to heavily restrict or deny access to water, shelter and medical care. Living conditions remain dire, while violence continues to cause daily casualties. In recent weeks, the volume of humanitarian aid entering Gaza has significantly declined.

In the West Bank, medical and humanitarian needs are also rising amid increased violence, forced displacement, armed settler attacks, home demolitions, settlement expansion and obstruction to healthcare, the organisation said.

MSF stated that the withdrawal of its registration with Israeli authorities has already begun to affect patient care, further straining a health system devastated over the past two years and hampered by restrictions on essential medical equipment and supplies. 

Since early January, MSF has been prevented from bringing international staff and additional supplies into the OPT, and by 1 March 2026, all its international staff will be required to leave.

The organisation warned that its medical programmes are facing shortages, raising concerns about the continuation of emergency trauma care, rehabilitation services, paediatric care, sexual and reproductive health services, treatment for non-communicable diseases and psychiatric conditions. It added that its long-term operations may become unsustainable under such conditions.

"MSF's programmes are critical lifelines. Medical care and humanitarian assistance on this scale cannot easily be replaced," said Lockyear. 

"Amid ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, MSF will stay in the OPT for as long as possible, doing as much as we can. We call on the Israeli authorities to enable humanitarian aid at scale and on the international community to ensure Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are not abandoned to their fate."

MSF has been operating in the OPT since 1988, providing medical and mental health services and, more recently, large-scale water and sanitation support. In 2025, the organisation supported one in five hospital beds in Gaza and assisted one in three deliveries. It carried out 913,284 outpatient consultations and distributed more than 700 million litres of water.

In January 2026 alone, MSF conducted 83,579 outpatient consultations, treated 40,646 emergency cases and provided care for 5,981 trauma-related patients. The organisation had planned to expand its programmes in 2026 with a budget of €130 million, but said that plan is now uncertain.

MSF also alleged that the new registration requirements coincide with a coordinated global online campaign targeting the organisation, promoted by the Israeli government.

"A delegitimisation campaign, grounded in false and unsubstantiated allegations, is designed to discredit MSF, silence the organisation's voice, and obstruct the provision of healthcare," Lockyear said. "In a context where international journalists are barred, and Palestinian journalists are regularly killed, further reducing NGO access risks removing yet another layer of witnesses to the ongoing violence and its enduring impacts on people."