“Arbitrary Denials”: Israel Bars Medics from Entering Gaza Over Speaking Out on Genocide and Suffering

UK and US medics said they believe Israel has denied them re-entry to the Gaza Strip after they spoke out about the genocide and the suffering there.

According to the Guardian, provided with no reason for being blocked from entry, medics believed their refusals came after giving first-hand testimony from their time in Gaza during the genocide.

Under international law Israel is required to allow and facilitate the unimpeded and rapid passage of humanitarian aid.

Others said their identity or prior experience in the territory may have influenced decisions to block them.

James Smith, an emergency doctor who has not returned to Gaza since June 2024, said she was denied entry by Israel on two consecutive occasions in 2025, with no explanation given.

“Not just had I spoken to media outlets but I had spoken in a particular way,” said Smith, mentioning Israel’s registration guidelines for NGOs and foreign staff, which includes considerations such as having called for or participated in a boycott of the state of Israel.

“I can only assume that it was elements of my public profile, because I’m otherwise a white, middle-class, British man with no Palestinian heritage, no criminal convictions,” said Smith, who was travelling with the nonprofit Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

“It’s the expression of my politics that must have rattled them,” he added.

In August, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the denial rates of international health professionals rose by nearly 50%, with 102 people barred from 18 March.

Khaled Dawas, a consultant surgeon, told the Guardian it was clear those who had been outspoken had been denied entry.

“I can’t think of anything else,” Dawas said from London. “I’m not military. I don’t carry anything. I’m no different to the colleagues who have gone in. The only difference is that they haven’t spoken up as much.”

He was denied entry in August and November with two separate organisations, after travelling to Gaza in 2024.

Thaer Ahmad, an emergency physician from Chicago, was denied entry four times, most recently in January. As a Palestinian-American born in the US, he believes his identity is one of the reasons behind his blocked entry, as well his advocacy since travelling to Gaza in 2024. The reason given by Israeli authorities were security concerns.

This came as Israel recently ordered dozens of international organizations to stop their work in Gaza and the occupied West Bank if they did not meet new rules, including sharing details about their staff.

Among those deregistered was the UK-based MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians). For the past six months, MAP has not been able to get medical workers or aid into Gaza. For each blocked entry, no reason was given.

Steve Cutts, MAP’s chief executive, called the denial of entry a “deliberate measure” taken by Israel, with life-and-death consequences for Palestinians in Gaza.

“Israel’s deregistration of international NGOs and restrictions on medical personnel are part of a wider pattern of measures that are cruelly blocking humanitarian assistance and obstructing independent medical witnesses,” said Cutts.

Some medics and humanitarian organizations first discovered they had been denied entry close to 24 hours before their entry date after travelling to Jordan. In other cases, they received rejections days before leaving the UK ahead of Israeli holidays.

A UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said the foreign secretary late last year met with medical teams denied entry into Gaza.

“Israel must immediately lift restrictions and allow food, medical supplies and fuel to reach those in desperate need, in line with international humanitarian law,” a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said.

London-based consultant plastic surgeon Victoria Rose, who was denied entry in late 2025, does not necessarily believe that having been outspoken on the number of injuries or paediatric injuries of Gaza was the reason she was blocked from entering.

“They don’t want anyone going that knows the system, is useful, that is effective, that’s where it seems to be. I don’t necessarily think they’ve got a handle of what I’ve done or said,” she said. “Maybe.”

Israel has repeatedly targeted medical facilities and healthcare workers throughout its genocidal war on Gaza amid a blockade on aid, including medicine and medical tools.