Guelph, Ontario, doctor on his way to Gaza aid work says he was denied entry to Israel for carrying medical supplies
A doctor from Guelph, Ontario is speaking out after he was stopped by an Israeli border guard while trying to enter Gaza to do humanitarian work and then ultimately barred from continuing his journey.
Dr. Hassan Kapasi told CBC News that twice last year — in the wake of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement signed by both sides as part of efforts to end the years-long war — he attempted to get to Gaza from Jordan, which meant driving through Israel.
His first attempt to cross was on 25 November, when Kapasi was on a bus sent by the United Nations (UN). It was filled with mostly medical staff representing various non-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations World Food Program, and Catholic Relief Services.
Kapasi was there on behalf of Texas-based NGO Humanity Auxilium to assist surgeons dealing with the growing medical needs of patients at Gaza’s Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital.
The bus was stopped for a random baggage check by an Israeli border guard at the Allenby Bridge, also known as the King Hussein Bridge. Border guards found general medical equipment, including stethoscopes and temperature probes, Band-Aids and blood pressure cuffs.
Kapasi said guards told him he was being refused entry because they believed his intention was to distribute goods in Gaza.
“It’s kind of arbitrary because everybody who gets medical in the convoy has things like that.”
Kapasi tried to enter again on 4 December – he said the same border guard recognized him and told him he was banned from re-entering the country.
“I was selected for the second time and this time there was no reason,” Kapasi said, adding that he did not have any medical equipment with him when he attempted to enter in December.
“They gave me a piece of paper that said I was a security threat or a threat to public safety, and I could never enter Israel in the future.”
Specifically, the paper cites “public safety or public safety or public order considerations” as the reason for denying entry to Kapasi.
The colleague says, ‘We followed all the rules.’
Kapasi said his colleague, British surgeon Dr Muhammad Farooq, and another Italian doctor from Catholic Relief Services were also deported on November 25. The remaining group of about 30 people were allowed to pass.
“We followed all the rules,” Farooq said. “We thought they would let us go… confiscate our luggage and let us in, but then they didn’t.”
Farouk, a colorectal surgeon at Harrogate District Hospital in the United Kingdom, successfully crossed the Israeli border three times before being stopped the first time last November. He hopes to try to visit again in about six months to a year.
The efforts of Kapasi, Farooq and others are as follows deadly attacks The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip continues despite a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the war that began on October 7, 2023, following a Hamas-led attack on Israel.
According to Israeli figures, the war killed about 1,200 people in the country. On Tuesday, Gaza’s health ministry reported that 586 Palestinians had been killed since the ceasefire began, bringing the total death toll since Israel’s attacks began to 72,037. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, keeps detailed casualty records that are generally considered reliable by UN agencies and independent experts, but it does not detail civilians and militants.
NGO cited ‘continued shortage of supplies’
In a statement to CBC News, Humanity Auxilium said Kapasi had received advance approval from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to enter Gaza on November 25, with an exit date of December 23. The approval came from the Coordination of Government Activities in the Areas (COGAT), the IDF’s administrative branch.
“Hospitals are chronically short of supplies. The supplies they were carrying were meager and in ziplock bags, not even enough to cover their entire rotation period” – two weeks for surgeons and four weeks for Kapasi, the statement said.
“A pattern of denials without an appeals process has been established. We have had several surgeons denied entry by COGAT the night before deployment without any reason.”
The organization said medical staff have the most difficulty crossing the border, with “the refusal rate at 45.5 percent being the highest among all the different groups entering Gaza according to data shared by the United Nations Support Unit in November 2025. There is really no rhyme or reason for the deployment of physicians to Gaza.”
In a social media post, the group included a video of Kapasi explaining what happened to him. Below the video it read: “Imagine being told that your stethoscope makes you a threat to public safety.
The post further said, “When even terrorists against Palestinians are armed, is it really a ceasefire? End the siege. Open the borders. Let the help help.”
The doctor says he always wants to help
In the past, Kapasi, a doctor at Guelph General Hospital, has worked with organizations like the Canadian Red Cross to provide medical aid in places like South Sudan and Bangladesh. This was their first attempt to enter Gaza.
He said, “I have always been interested in humanitarian work and like everyone else, I am looking at the situation on the ground, and feeling helpless and want to try to help as much as I can with whatever resources I have.”
CBC News contacted the Israeli Consulate for comment on this story. A spokesperson there said they would need the doctor’s passport number to consider it further. Kapasi chose not to share that information and the Israeli Consulate in turn declined to comment.
Support groups will have to register their names
Various NGOs told CBC News that bringing medical equipment into Gaza can be extremely complex.
“W“We have repeatedly called for the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including critical medical items,” the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told CBC in an email.
“The health care system in Gaza is under severe strain and civilians are in need of significantly increased medical assistance. Current restrictions on the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza have hindered the entry of medical items needed to address the overwhelming level of need. The ICRC reiterates its call for the rapid and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, including medicine and medical items.”
Israel announced New rules starting this year Aid organizations are required to register the names of their staff and provide details about funding and operations in order to continue working in Gaza.
Israel said the rules were intended to prevent Hamas and other terrorist groups from infiltrating aid organizations.
There are a lot of places in the world that need help, so I will continue to do humanitarian work in the future and try to help as much as I can from here on out.– Dr. Hasan Kapasi
The new rules also include conceptual requirements. These include disqualifying organizations that have called for a boycott against Israel, denounced a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, or expressed support for any international court case against Israeli soldiers or leaders.
Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry said more than 30 groups – about 15 percent of organizations active in Gaza – had failed to comply and would be suspended. These also include World Vision International, several regional branches of Oxfam, and Doctors Without Borders medecins sans frontiers (MSF).
When asked about Kapasi’s story, MSF directed CBC News to do a news release in response to Israel’s border restrictions since January.
“Israel has knowingly given MSF and our Palestinian allies an impossible choice; The non-profit organization said in regards to its suspension, “Either we provide this information or we abandon the millions of Palestinians who need critical medical care.”
“The people need much more support, not less. Since (January 1), all our international staff have been refused entry to Gaza and all our supplies have been blocked.”
MSF said it was concerned about the consequences of handing over the personal information of its staff.
“We have refused to hand over this list until now because we are legitimately concerned about providing such information in a context where 1,700 health workers, including 15 MSF workers, have been killed since October 2023.”
Global Affairs says access to Gaza is needed
In a statement to CBC News, the Palestinian General Delegation to Canada said it is gravely concerned about Kapsi’s ban.
“This measure represents a continuation of the systematic obstruction of international medical personnel, further weakening Gaza’s already collapsing health system,” the statement said.
“The delegation emphasizes that these actions are a clear violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under international law and represent a continuation of its violations against the Palestinian people.”
Global Affairs Canada said it is aware that Canadians are being denied entry to Gaza.
“Canada continues to advocate for the easing of movement restrictions in the Palestinian territories and throughout the Palestinian territories,” said spokesperson Clemence Grewe.
“We continue to call for a UN-led humanitarian response with rapid, safe and unimpeded access into and throughout Gaza.”
Kapasi said he has no plans to appeal his denial of entry to Israel, but that does not mean his humanitarian work will end.
He said, “There are a lot of places in the world that need help, so I will continue to do humanitarian work in the future and try to help as much as I can from here on out.”
“But there is probably no option (to volunteer) for Gaza in the future.”
