THE UN Relief and Works Agency did not resume shipments of food and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip yesterday, although the Hamas-led government said on Saturday that a crisis over confiscation of aid supplies had been resolved.
The agency’s spokesman, Christopher Gunness, said “all the aid has not been returned” and that consequently, “shipments will not resume”. Distribution of food to the agency’s 750,000 refugee recipients would continue until “supplies run out”.
However, he added: “Unless we receive three truckloads of pallets of nylon bags, we cannot make distributions after tomorrow [Monday]”, because there will be no containers for flour, lentils and other items imported in bulk.
Israel has banned the transfer of nylon bags into Gaza, along with goods not on lists of essential humanitarian items.
Hamas minister of health Bassim Naim made his announcement after a meeting with agency commissioner Karen Koning Abu Zayd during which an agreement was reached providing for the return of all supplies seized last week on the orders of the ministry of social affairs.
On Tuesday, police took 3,500 blankets and 400 food parcels from a UN warehouse and on Thursday 10 lorry-loads of rice and flour were confiscated on the Palestinian side of the Karem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel. In response, the agency suspended aid imports and announced it would not resume shipments until confiscated goods were restored and assurances given that there would be no further seizures.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called on Hamas to release the supplies. Hamas responded by admitting that a “mistake” had been committed and pledged to return the goods.
The UN has increased its food distribution to cover 900,000 of Gaza’s population of 1.5 million.
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