Extract from ABC News
Gazan man Jibril Najjar says the work of Doctors Without Borders saved his leg from a gunshot wound. (ABC News)
In short:
Almost 40 aid agencies — including Doctors Without Borders — were to be banned from operating in Gaza this weekend for not complying with an Israeli government requirement to hand over detailed staff information.
On Friday, Israel's Supreme Court temporarily halted the ban, while it considers a legal challenge from the some of the humanitarian agencies.
Doctors Without Borders, which has 1,200 staff across Gaza, fears the measures will put patients at risk and leave a gap in the healthcare system that cannot be filled.
From his tent perched on top of the rubble of a former building in southern Gaza, Jibril Najjar cautiously navigated a path down from the shelter to the street.
He was propped up by a single crutch, with his left leg pinned together by painful and almost industrial looking scaffolding.
Jibril had been shot in the leg, and his injury required surgery to insert a metal plate.
Despite that treatment, he is now making a sobering and shocking prediction about the state of healthcare available in Gaza, exacerbated by the departure of some international humanitarian organisations.
"If Médecins Sans Frontières shuts down, I swear to God … I will die. I will lose my leg," he told the ABC.
"Where shall I go? To whom?"
Jibril Najjar believes he would have lost his leg if it wasn't for Doctors Without Borders. (ABC News)
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known as Doctors Without Borders in English, is among almost 40 international agencies the Israeli government had been trying to ban from operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank from the beginning of March.
It was the culmination of months of pressure from Israeli authorities for organisations to hand over detailed staffing lists and personal data about employees, following an Israeli government decision in December 2024.
A group of humanitarian organisations this week petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to suspend the measures, arguing it would cause "irreparable harm" to civilians, and on Friday the court agreed to temporarily delay the ban while it considered their case.
It is not yet clear how that injunction will change the situation on the ground, particularly given the fact some of the organisations had already withdrawn foreign staff from the enclave.
"The demand to transfer personal data raises acute security and legal risks," aid group Oxfam, which is also getting kicked out, said in a statement prior to the court's ruling.
"It exposes national staff to potential retaliation and undermines established data protection and confidentiality safeguards."
Human Rights Watch was among the organisations to argue the demands "violate the humanitarian principles of neutrality and independence", listing agencies such as the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children as also being kicked out.
In late January, MSF said it had agreed to hand over a "defined list" of staffing details to avoid being kicked out of the Palestinian territories.
But days later, it walked that back following concerns from staff that such a move put their safety at risk.
MSF head of emergencies in Gaza, Claire Nicolet, said the organisation was trying to work with Israeli authorities but did not feel comfortable handing over a list of its staff without discussion.
"We have no understanding of how this list will be used, to who it will be shared or anything like this — because up to now, we couldn't manage to have an open dialogue with the Israeli authorities," she said.
Claire Nicolet says MSF has been trying to answer the Israeli authorities' requests. (ABC News)
In early February, Israeli government minister Amichai Chikli, accused MSF of refusing to be transparent and claimed it employed "individuals active in terrorist organisations".
MSF labelled that a "smear campaign" designed to "distract attention away from the humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, adding it "would never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity".
Man spends eight days in hospital after gunshot wound
Jibril Najjar is among the Palestinians in Gaza who have been relying on organisations like MSF for care.
When he was shot, he said he lay waiting for treatment in the Al-Shifa Hospital for eight days.
"No-one even looked at me over there," he told the ABC.
"When I was taken to MSF they did the operation on the next day, and brought me medication and everything."
Concerns about the state of Gaza's health system have been present during much of Israel's bombardment of the Strip, following Hamas' deadly attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel has been repeatedly accused of targeting health facilities in its attacks and not adhering to the protections afforded to such institutions under international law.
But Israel has frequently rejected such allegations, insisting Hamas has used places like hospitals as command centres, weapons stockpiles and shelters — and arguing those buildings have lost their protected status.
"Unfortunately, the Gaza health system is on its knees, it's completely destroyed — not even half of the hospitals are still operating, and they are just partially operating," Ms Nicolet said.
MSF was supporting one in five hospital beds in Gaza, and in 2025 had supported the delivery of one in three babies.
Ms Nicolet said in 2025 alone, MSF saw more than 800,000 patients in Gaza.
Fears aid from Doctors Without Borders 'will not be replaceable'
The fear is that blocking organisations such as MSF, which has 1,200 staff across Gaza, will leave too large a hole in the healthcare system for other organisations to step up.
"We don't know how this will be replaced, by who and how, because the gap that they will let, it will not be replaceable," Ms Nicolet said.
The Kamal Adwan hospital, pictured in December 2023, was among those bombed during the war. (Reuters: Fadi Alwhidifa)
On Thursday the Israel defence agency coordinating aid in Gaza, COGAT, condemned organisations such as MSF for not complying with the disclosure rules.
"This is a basic and transparent requirement intended to prevent the exploitation of the aid mechanism by Hamas," it said on social media platform X.
COGAT insisted the deregistration would not impact the amount of aid entering Gaza, but its comments did not specifically address service delivery on the ground.
"The scope of aid is not dependent on organisations that chose not to complete the registration process, and their contribution in the past accounted for only one per cent of the total aid entering the Strip," COGAT claimed.
"Accordingly, there is no harm to the humanitarian effort and no change in the volume of aid entering Gaza.
"Moreover, Israel continues to allow and facilitate the entry of hundreds of international humanitarian workers into Gaza on behalf of the UN, the Red Cross, and approved international organisations."
Gazans looking abroad for treatment in MSF's absence
Gazans are worried about the potential departure of MSF, given their reliance on the organisation.
Among them was Ammar Asaliyeh, 37, who was living in southern Gaza and unable to return home to Jabalia in the north of the Strip.
He lost a leg during the war and has used a wheelchair since.
Ammar Asaliyeh, 37, receives treatment from Doctors Without Borders three days a week. (ABC News)
"I go three days a week to MSF — I get painkillers from them, and physiotherapy," he told the ABC.
"I wish MSF stays and we can continue treatment with them, and I wish I could also get a prosthetic limb.
"I made a request for treatment abroad and I am now waiting."
Musa Aliyah has been receiving subsidised medicines through Doctors Without Borders. (ABC News)
MSF had also been subsidising medications for locals, including for 62-year-old Musa Aliyah.
"I take various kinds of medication. If I had to buy them from my own money it would be 200 Shekels, but I have no more than 20 Shekels," he said.
"I am 62 years old, where will I bring the money from? There is no work or anything."
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