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Kia ora John Wilson,

 

Thank you for your OIA request received on 2 July 2025 for:

 

A list of all communications from the Government of Israel or the United
States, including their embassies or representatives, mentioning the Gaza
Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), received by MFAT from 1 May 2025 to now.

 

For each item, please include:

 

- Date received

 

- Source

 

- Type of document

 

- Subject or title

 

- A brief description or summary

 

This email confirms receipt of your request and advises that we will
respond to it as soon as reasonably practicable, and in terms of the
timeframes and requirements of the OIA.

 

Please note that our response letter to you (with your personal details
redacted), and any enclosed documents, may be published on the Ministry’s
website.

 

Ngâ mihi

 

Executive Services Division

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatû Aorere

 

 

 

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Tçnâ koe John Wilson,

 

We are writing concerning your Official Information Act request below, to
advise that responding to your request as currently framed would require
review of a significant amount of information. As such, it is likely that
your request will be refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, as the
information requested cannot be made available without substantial
collation and research.

 

For your information, New Zealand’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict
has been consistently grounded in the upholding of international law,
including international humanitarian law, alongside New Zealand’s broader
foreign policy. We have consistently advocated for safe, rapid, and
unimpeded humanitarian access, and the protection of humanitarian workers.
New Zealand has provided NZ$37.5 million in financial support to the
humanitarian response.

 

On 19 May 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs signed a [1]joint
statement together with Foreign Ministers from 23 other countries on
humanitarian aid to Gaza and the proposal for a new aid delivery model.
The statement noted that the new model, “places beneficiaries and aid
workers at risk, undermines the role and independence of the UN and our
trusted partners, and links humanitarian aid to political and military
objectives. Humanitarian aid should never be politicised, and Palestinian
territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change.”

 

More information on New Zealand’s humanitarian response to the
Israel-Hamas conflict can be found here:
[2]https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-an....

  

We invite you to amend the scope of this request. For example, you may
wish to narrow the timeframe, specify particular topics of interest, or
identify specific types of documents or communications.

 

If we do not hear from you by 18 July 5pm, we will proceed with your
original request.

 

Please note, any clarification or amendment of a request is considered to
be a new request for the purpose of calculating the maximum statutory
timeframe for response (section 15(1AA) of the OIA refers).  

 

 

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Tēnā koe John Wilson,

We are writing in regards to your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request of 2 July 2025, and subsequently refined on 15 July 2025 which asks for:
I am seeking communications where the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is a primary or significant subject of the communication, not merely incidental mentions.

Specifically, I am requesting copies or a summary list of the following document types:
- Notes verbales
- Letters from ambassadors or officials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs or MFAT Chief Executive
- Demarches or formal diplomatic representations

For each, please provide:
- Date received
- Source
- Type of communication
- Subject or title (if available)
- A brief summary or description

This email is to advise that we will need to extend the time limit for responding to you by 20 working days, to 27 August 2025. This is because consultations necessary to make a decision on your request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably be made within the original time frame, and responding to your refined request still necessitates review of a large quantity of information, and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Ministry (section 15A(1)(a) and 15A(1)(b) of the OIA refers of the OIA refers).

However, if this process is completed before 27 August 2025, the response will be sent to you as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, you can contact us by email at: DM [email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision by contacting http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/ or freephone 0800 802 602.

Nga mihi

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatu Aorere

195 Lambton Quay, Private Bag 18901, Wellington 5045, New Zealand
http://www.mfat.govt.nz/ | http://www.safetravel.govt.nz/

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