Oxfam-Québec surprised to find itself on list of NGOs set to be barred from Gaza

Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped into Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

OTTAWA — Canadian non-profit Oxfam-Québec says it was surprised to find itself on a list of 37 organizations set to be barred from Gaza by Israel.

The country is reportedly moving to suspend more than two dozen humanitarian organizations as of Jan. 1 for failing to comply with new vetting rules for international organizations working in the enclave.

In a press release, Oxfam-Québec says its registration dates to before 2020 and is no longer active, and Oxfam affiliates are now legally represented in the Occupied Palestinian Territory under a single registered entity, Oxfam Novib, which is also on the suspension list.

The press release says Oxfam is pursuing discussions with Israeli authorities to ensure its essential humanitarian activities continue.

In a joint statement, Canada and other countries called on Israel Tuesday to boost the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and ensure that international NGOs are able to operate there in a “sustained and predictable way.”

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a social media post Tuesday that the joint statement was “false but unsurprising” and “blatantly ignores the significant improvement” in the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press