Hamas warns against cancelling aid groups’ licences in Gaza, West Bank

Hamas has warned of the dangers of reports in Israeli media suggesting that the Israeli occupation government plans to cancel the operating licences of dozens of international relief organisations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, saying the move would be a serious escalation against humanitarian effort     .

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Islamic Resistance Movement said this direction shows a “blatant disregard for the international community and the humanitarian system”, and comes as part of attempts by the occupation to politicise aid work and use it as a tool of pressure.

Hamas said the occupation is trying to turn humanitarian assistance into a means of blackmail against the Palestinian people, who are facing a worsening humanitarian disaster, especially in the Gaza Strip, as a result of ongoing occupation policies.

The movement called on the international community, particularly the United Nations, as well as human rights and humanitarian organisations, to take urgent and effective action to condemn these practices and to pressure the Israel occupation to reverse this policy.

It also stressed the need to prevent the occupation from using humanitarian aid as a weapon of starvation and a way to prolong human suffering, describing this as a clear and explicit violation of international law.