Israel has ordered the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) to suspend its cooperation with the Turkish aid organization Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) in Gaza, a move the U.N. agency says could cut off life-saving food and nutrition assistance to more than 166,000 Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.
The decision follows an order issued by Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which instructed the WFP to immediately cease fuel transfers and all forms of support to the IHH, officially known as the Humanitarian Relief Foundation.
"The WFP has been instructed by the Israeli authorities to immediately suspend fuel provision 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," a WFP spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday.
The IHH is a Turkish nongovernmental organization that provides humanitarian assistance and conducts search and rescue operations in crisis zones around the world. The organization has been operating in Gaza in partnership with the WFP since January 2024.
Israel designated the IHH a terrorist organization in 2008, alleging links to Hamas. The Turkish aid group has repeatedly rejected such accusations.
