Aid group stops most work at Gaza hospital citing presence of gunmen, weapons

Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis, in August 2025

Nir Hasson reports in Haaretz on 14 February 2026:

Humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, announced on Friday that it was halting its work in most departments at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip, citing the presence of armed militants and weapons inside the hospital.

MSF, one of the largest humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, said it ceased all non-critical operations at Gaza’s second-largest medical center as of January 20. According to the organization’s statement, staff observed “a pattern of unacceptable acts, including the presence of armed men, intimidation, arbitrary arrests of patients, and a recent situation of suspicion of movement of weapons.”

MSF reported that it conveyed this information to “relevant authorities,” as it constitutes a violation of the MSF medical mission and “poses serious security threats to our teams and patients.”  “Hospitals must remain neutral, civilian spaces, free from military presence or activity, to ensure the safe and impartial delivery of medical care,” the organization stated.

The organization announced the end to its operations in the hospital’s pediatric, maternity and neonatal intensive care units. MSF also closed consultation clinics in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, a burns clinic and mental health.  However, MSF continues to operate in the inpatient and surgical departments because, it stated, leaving these departments could lead to the death of patients.

MSF emphasized that “health facilities have been regularly and deliberately targeted by the Israeli forces, resulting in loss of life and damage to infrastructure. MSF calls on all armed groups, as well as Israeli forces, to respect medical facilities and ensure the protection of staff and patients.”

Israel revoked MSF’s operating permit in Gaza and the West Bank following a change in the requirements for obtaining a permit for humanitarian activity.  In January, MSF said it would ‌not submit lists of staff demanded by Israel to maintain access to Gaza ⁠and the West Bank, saying it had not been able to obtain assurances ‌over the safety of its teams.

MSF, which supports and helps staff hospitals in Gaza, is one ‍of 37 international organizations that Israel ordered this month to stop work in the Palestinian territories unless they meet new rules, including providing ‍employee details to Israel.

The aid groups say sharing such staff information could pose a safety risk, ‌pointing to the hundreds of aid workers who were killed or injured during the two-year Gaza war.

As a result, starting at the end of the month, the organization’s international staff will lose their visas and be forced to leave, and the organization will not be permitted to bring new equipment or teams into the Strip. The United Nations and other humanitarian organizations have warned that MSF’s departure from the Strip would severely damage Gaza’s health system, which is already struggling to function.

This article is reproduced in its entirety