In his statement, Doctor Ahmed al-Ferra, head of the Department of Pediatrics at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, said that the interruption of aid from international organizations could lead to a crisis, especially in the neonatal ward.
Ferra explained that due to the law passed by Israel in March 2025, international aid organizations cannot deliver aid and services to Gaza and therefore the health sector in Gaza faces difficult days.
“Support has been cut”
Ferra explained that the withdrawal of international organizations from some departments of the hospital will affect vital services: “We are currently in the intensive care unit of the neonatal unit in the Tahrir building and as you can see there is excessive density in the incubators. The first impact of the withdrawal of international organizations is seen in the number of medical staff caring for these patients.” he said.
Explaining that under normal circumstances there are seven nurses and five doctors working on the ward, Ferra said: “Unfortunately, today there are only two doctors and three nurses. The lack of sufficient staff will inevitably lead to a significant deterioration in the quality of care for these children.” he said.
Ferra stressed that the second and more dangerous impact of the withdrawal of international organizations was the lack of medical supplies and medicines, saying: “These organizations were able to supply many medicines directly, and in particular to deliver them to intensive care units and newborn services. This support has now stopped.” he said.
Lack of medical care “ticking time bomb”
Ferra stressed that there is currently a serious shortage of medical supplies and medicines in Gaza, saying: “If the border crossing remains closed as before and foreign organizations do not come back, we are facing a time bomb that will explode as quickly as possible in terms of supplies and medicines.” he said.
Noting that the health sector in Gaza was severely damaged during the war, Ferra said: “We know that in the health sector in the Gaza Strip, the occupying forces have targeted this sector and destroyed more than 85% of its infrastructure.” he said.
Stating that the total collapse of the health system was prevented with the support of international organizations, Ferra said: “These foreign organizations have tried to eliminate a large part of this deficit by providing financial allocations for staff, including doctors, nurses and managers, and providing many medical supplies, equipment and baby food, and they have succeeded.” he said.
Ferra stated that with Israel's decision, Gaza's health system will once again face serious difficulties, saying: “Breaking this chain takes us back to the beginning and means a return to the beginning and makes it seriously difficult for the people of Gaza to maintain health care, which is already suffering from a serious shortage and a crippling siege.” He added his statements.
Israel revokes the licenses of international NGOs
Israel had announced that under the new law on international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that will come into force, organizations that do not renew their registration in the country will have to suspend their activities from January 1 and leave the country from March 1.
However, with the February 27 decision, Israel's Supreme Court issued an injunction preventing the deportation from Israel of international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations operating in Gaza and the West Bank.
Under the law passed by Israel in March 2025, aid organizations operating in the region are required to renew their licenses and submit the identity information of all their Palestinian employees “for security screening.”
International aid organizations emphasize concerns that Israel could use these lists arbitrarily and contrary to the principle of protecting personal data.
International aid organizations whose licenses have been revoked must close their offices in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem and cannot send international experts, doctors or humanitarian aid to Gaza.
It is reported that with Israel's new regulation, the activities of many aid organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Caritas, CARE and International Rescue Committee (IRC) will be suspended.
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