UNCLASSIFIED
New Zealand Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Manatū Aorere
195 Lambton Quay
29 August 2025
Private Bag 18−901
Wellington 6160
New Zealand
T +64 4 439 8000
F +64 4 472 9596
John Wilson
OIA 30241
[FYI request #31473 email]
Tēnā koe John Wilson
Thank you for your email of 2 July 2025 in which you request the following under the
Official Information Act 1982 (OIA):
“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”
On 15 July 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Ministry) contacted you
to discuss the scope of your request, because as it was originally framed it would have
required substantial collation and research to provide the information requested.
On 15 July 2025, you agreed to refine the scope of your request to be for:
“substantive formal communications - received by MFAT from the Government of
Israel and the Government of the United States, including their embassies or
diplomatic representatives, between - 1 May and 30 June 2025 -, that refer to or
mention the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
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:
UNCLASSIFIED
Page 2 of 3
- 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
If the volume or complexity of records matching the full scope of this request is
considered too substantial, I am willing to narrow the request further to only the
month of May.”
On 30 July 2025, the timeframes for responding to your request were extended by an
additional 20 working days because responding to your request necessitated the review
of a large quantity of information, and due to the consultations necessary to make a
decision on your request (section 15A(1)(a) and (b) of the OIA refers).
The Ministry has been unable to find records of any substantive formal communications
about the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation from the Government of Israel or the
Government of the United States between 1 May 2025 and 30 June 2025. Accordingly,
your request is refused under section 18(e) of the OIA, as the information you requested
does not exist.
New Zealand has not provided funding to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. As the
New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a joint statement together with
counterparts from 27 other countries on 21 July 2025, New Zealand considers that the
Israeli Government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability, and deprives
Gazans of human dignity:
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/media-and-resources/joint-
statement-on-humanitarian-situation-in-gaza-and-the-occupied-palestinian-territories.
New Zealand has provided NZ$37.25 million to support humanitarian and stabilisation
needs since 7 October 2023. Our funding has gone to organisations that are experienced
humanitarian responders and have robust systems to aid civilians in need. These include
the World Food Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the
United Nations Children’s Fund, among others.
Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official
information requests where possible. Therefore, our response to your request (with your
personal information removed) may be published on the Ministry website:
www.mfat.govt.nz/en/about-us/contact-us/official-information-act-responses/
Page 3 of 3
If you have any questions about this decision, you can contact us by email at:
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of this decision by contacting
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Sarah Corbett
for Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade
