Israel Halts Aid, Re‑Registers NGOs Amid Rafah Attacks

Israel has begun an unprecedented campaign to re-register and de-list major international NGOs operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank under new criteria reviewed by a committee including the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, a move aid groups say threatens their ability to deliver assistance. In parallel, Israel halted transfers of humanitarian aid and temporarily closed multiple Gaza crossings after accusing Hamas of breaching the U.S.-brokered ceasefire by attacking Israeli troops in Rafah, then launched heavy airstrikes in retaliation. The strikes and the attacks killed Palestinians and at least two Israeli soldiers in separate incidents, and Gaza health officials reported multiple civilian deaths. Israeli officials later allowed some aid through Kerem Shalom and “additional crossings after Israeli inspection,” but Rafah remained closed and the agreed target of up to 600 trucks per day remains unmet. International actors, including leaders of nine Mediterranean EU countries and the EU crisis commissioner, urged Israel to open all crossings and warned that the NGO registration process is a major obstacle to scaling up lifesaving assistance amid a U.N.-declared famine. The U.S. role has been prominent and at times publicly mixed, underscoring the fragile political backdrop to the humanitarian crisis and ongoing de-escalation efforts.