The head of a US-backed private humanitarian organisation tasked with distributing aid in Gaza using an Israeli-initiated plan resigned, Reuters reports.

Jake Wood, a former US Marine and the executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for the past two months, said in a statement that he resigned because the organisation could not adhere “to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon”.

Wood earlier this month wrote a letter to Israel, saying the foundation would not share any personally identifiable information of aid recipients with Israel.

Wood also asked Israel to facilitate the flow of enough aid “using existing modalities” until the foundation’s infrastructure is fully operational.

He wrote that it was essential to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure and ease pressure on the distribution sites during the foundation’s first days of operation.