GAZA CITY — A United Nations aid agency that serves more than half of the 1.5 million residents of the Gaza Strip suspended humanitarian shipments Friday, accusing Hamas of confiscating U.N. material for the second time in a week.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency said Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza, had seized 10 trucks filled with rice and flour. Earlier in the week, the agency had accused Hamas’ police force of confiscating blankets and food from a U.N.-affiliated warehouse.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon called on Hamas to release the aid immediately. In a statement from New York, the world body said the suspension would remain in place “until the aid is returned and the agency is given credible assurances from the Hamas government in Gaza that there will be no repeat of these thefts.”
The suspension comes at a time when Gaza’s residents are still reeling from the effects of a 22-day Israeli offensive in the coastal territory.
Hamas officials in Gaza denied that the Islamic movement had seized the trucks. The Washington Post
