Displaced Palestinians, including many children, wait in long queues to receive hot meals distributed by a charitable organization at Bureijj Refugee Camp in Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine on 18 May 2026. [Getty]
Israel has ordered the UN’s World Food Programme on Friday to suspend its work in Gaza with a Turkish NGO it designated as a “terrorist organisation”.
“WFP has been instructed by the Israeli authorities to suspend fuel provision immediately and all activities with its partner IHH, cutting off assistance to more than 166,000 people who rely on daily hot meals, bread, and nutrition support to survive,” an agency spokesperson told AFP in a statement.
IHH, or the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, is a Turkish NGO that provides humanitarian assistance and conducts search-and-rescue operations worldwide. WFP began working with IHH in Gaza in January 2024.
Israel designated it a terrorist organisation in May 2008 over unproven accusations of supporting Hamas.
“WFP’s partnership with IHH was established at a time of extreme need, particularly to reach underserved areas,” WFP said, adding that IHH had been rigorously vetted before the start of the partnership.
Israel’s defence ministry body in charge of civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, announced on Thursday that it had ordered WFP to stop all coordination with IHH after learning “that the UN agency transferred fuel within the Gaza Strip to the IHH organisation”.
In a letter to WFP’s leadership, COGAT’s chief demanded the “immediate suspension of fuel distribution and all other support by WFP to IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation”.
COGAT accused IHH of promoting flotillas that have attempted to breach its illegal blockade of Gaza.
WFP noted the impact the order would have on its activities in Gaza, battered by Israel’s genocide.
“The imposed suspension halts around 111,000 meals per day and critical support to approximately 55,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children at risk of malnutrition,” its spokesperson told AFP.
More than six months after the UN endorsed US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, the humanitarian situation in the territory remains catastrophic, three international NGOs said Thursday, calling on Israel to respect its obligations.
“Israel continues to deny most experienced aid groups from bringing in essential supplies, like pipes to fix water systems, shelters, materials and medical supplies at the levels needed,” Oxfam America President Abby Maxman said.
Despite an October 2025 ceasefire meant to halt Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023, with Israeli airstrikes pounding the coastal territory several times a week, killing over 800 so far.
“With 1.7 million people facing highly fragile food security conditions, it is critical that humanitarian operations are allowed to continue without disruption so life-saving assistance can reach civilians in need,” WFP’s spokesperson said.
