Oxfam will cease operations in Gaza at the end of this month, following a decision by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. The move comes days after Oxfam’s own CEO publicly alleged internal antisemitism and pressure within the organization to label Israel’s war against Hamas as “genocide” without sufficient factual basis.
On February 16, 2026, the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism announced that Oxfam, the British-founded confederation of 21 independent NGOs, will cease operations in Gaza effective February 28, 2026. The Ministry oversees the registration of humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria.
The announcement followed a February 13 interview on Channel 4 News in which Oxfam CEO Dr. Halima Begum said she had been pressured internally to use the term “genocide” in relation to Gaza without what she described as sufficient factual grounding. She further accused elements within Oxfam’s leadership of antisemitism and of maintaining what she characterized as a disproportionate and irrational focus on Gaza compared to other humanitarian crises worldwide.
Oxfam has long faced criticism over alleged anti-Israel bias and questions about its neutrality. The latest developments intensified scrutiny of the organization’s internal culture and public messaging.
According to BBC reporting at the time of her departure, Oxfam’s trustees said her position had become “untenable” due to an “irretrievable breakdown in its trust and confidence” in her leadership amid allegations of bullying. In a statement to Channel 4 News, Oxfam GB said it refutes Begum’s allegations.
Oxfam operates in more than 70 countries, providing development assistance and emergency humanitarian aid. According to NGO Monitor, in fiscal year 2023–2024 Oxfam reported €1 billion in total income and €1 billion in expenses, with €14.1 million allocated to Israel, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza. Major donors include the European Union and governments including Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, and Australia.
NGO Monitor has reported that Oxfam “consistently paints a highly misleading picture of the Arab-Israeli conflict, departing from its humanitarian mission focused on poverty.” The watchdog group states that Oxfam statements erase complexity and assign exclusive blame to Israel, while ignoring intra-Palestinian limitations and factors affecting economic development.
Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli said the CEO’s statements were significant precisely because of their source. “The CEO’s public statements reflect the narrative and intensity of antisemitism within Oxfam,” Chikli stated. “Dr. Begum herself, who is Muslim, has been a vocal critic of the State of Israel. Therefore, when she testifies about the level of antisemitism within the organization and levels these accusations herself, her remarks should resonate around the world all the more.”
Director General of the Ministry, Avi Cohen-Scali, framed the decision as part of a broader pattern. “This is yet another example of the hypocrisy and antisemitism within international organizations that cloak themselves in a humanitarian mantle,” he said.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement, known as CAM, also weighed in. Sacha Roytman Dratwa, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, issued a sharply worded statement connecting the controversy to what he described as systemic bias in the NGO sector.
“This decision speaks to a wider problem in the NGO and humanitarian community, which has long held the world’s one Jewish state to a different standard, clearly meeting the IHRA definition of Antisemitism,” Roytman Dratwa said.
“There has been a clear rush to use the term ‘genocide’ without sufficient factual basis, and by those without the relevant expertise, alongside a clear disproportionate fixation on Israel stretching back many years. All of this points to a dangerous politicization and obsession with Israel inside significant parts of the NGO sector.
“For too long, certain international organizations have rushed to level the most extreme accusations against Israel while failing to clearly and unequivocally condemn Hamas’s October 7 massacre, the documented mass sexual violence, and the terrorist group’s openly genocidal ideology put into action.
“Humanitarian credibility cannot survive selective outrage and narrative-driven advocacy. The NGO community must urgently restore standards of neutrality, evidence, and moral consistency, or risk further eroding global trust and fueling Antisemitism under the banner of human rights.”
At the center of the controversy is the explosive use of the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, a terrorist organization that carried out the October 7 massacre and openly calls for Israel’s destruction. The charge carries legal, political, and moral weight. It is not a slogan. It is an accusation of the gravest crime under international law.
In November 2024, Oxfam accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” stating, “Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the North Gaza governorate proves once again that it is operating with impunity from the dictates of international law.” In March 2024, Oxfam published a report calling for countries to “take all diplomatic, economic and political actions or measures within the state’s power to prevent genocide in Gaza, including by appealing to the UN Security Council” and “discontinuing any military assistance, including arms sales, that would enable or facilitate genocide, and other crimes under international law.”
Following the July 2024 advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice regarding “the legal consequences arising from Israel’s Policies and Practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” Oxfam claimed, “The Court confirmed that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which is one of the most serious international crimes…This is a historic ruling that lays bare Israel’s criminal actions that have denied rights, marginalised and subjugated Palestinians for decades.”
In November 2023, Oxfam published a statement condemning Israeli military activity at hospitals in Gaza, asserting, “Attacks on hospitals packed with civilians in need of urgent treatment and seeking shelter are abhorrent and can never be justified….Indiscriminately firing on civilians in hospitals is not just a war crime, it’s an assault on humanity.” The statement did not reference Hamas’s documented use of hospitals and civilian infrastructure for military operations.
This scrutiny comes amid broader criticism of international aid organizations’ conduct during the Gaza conflict. Claims that some groups have adopted highly charged legal terminology while downplaying or omitting Hamas’s tactics have fueled debate over whether neutrality has been replaced by advocacy.
Oxfam’s departure from Gaza on February 28 marks more than an administrative decision. It signals a confrontation between Israel’s government and segments of the international NGO community over standards of evidence, neutrality, and moral consistency. When the head of a major NGO alleges internal antisemitism and pressure to deploy the most severe legal accusation without sufficient basis, the issue can no longer be dismissed as partisan dispute.
The battle over language is now a battle over legitimacy. Words like “genocide” are not analytical tools when used recklessly; they are political weapons. The Israeli government has drawn a line. The NGO world must now decide whether it will return to factual rigor and neutrality, or continue down a path where advocacy overtakes evidence and the Jewish state is judged by a separate standard.
