New Israeli legislation regulating foreign aid groups has been increasingly used to deny their requests to bring supplies into Gaza, a joint letter signed by more than 100 groups said Thursday.

Ties between foreign-backed aid groups and the Israeli government have long been beset by tensions, with officials often complaining the organisations are biased.

The rocky relations have become even more strained since Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

"Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to bring in lifesaving goods, citing that these organisations are 'not authorised to deliver aid'," the aid groups said.

According to the letter, whose signatories include Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), at least 60 requests to bring aid into Gaza were rejected in July alone.

UK-based Oxfam said that $2.5 million worth of its supplies, including food, were barred from entering Gaza, while another charity, CARE, said it had not been........

© Al Monitor