UNRWA distribution center in Gaza
UNRWA distribution center in GazaIsrael News Photo: (Flash 90)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has said it won't even consider resuming aid shipments to Gaza until the Hamas terrorist organization has returned all the supplies that were stolen by its operatives from the agency last week.

Jerusalem-based UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told Israel National News in an email interview that contrary to public statements by Hamas that the dispute between the terrorist group and the U.N. agency had been resolved, "It's not over till it's over. We are still waiting for ALL our confiscated aid to be returned. Once it is, we will make a decision on resuming imports into Gaza."

UNRWA suspended its deliveries of humanitarian aid to the region last Friday after Hamas terrorists held up a convoy on Thursday and stole 200 tons of food supplies.

Earlier in the week, Hamas police raided the agency's distribution center and confiscated thousands of blankets and food packages intended for impoverished Gaza families. The seizure occurred after UNRWA staff refused to hand over the supplies to the Hamas government's Ministry of Social Affairs.

It was not the first time that Hamas terrorists had robbed supplies intended to feed and otherwise succor Gaza's poor, but Gunness maintained it was the first time Hamas had turned on UNRWA. IDF officials have noted numerous reports of Hamas and allied terrorists skimming off supplies once the aid trucks clear the crossings in to the region, and then selling the aid meant to be given out for free.

Gunness noted that UNRWA's distribution of humanitarian supplies within Gaza itself had not been halted. "Aid per se has not been suspended," he replied. "We have only suspended the trucks going in, but supplies which are already there can obviously be distributed."

UNRWA's 10,000 staff members in the region have also remained on the job, according to Gunness. In response to a question as to whether the workers would be paid during the dispute, he said the issue wasn't salaries, but cash, tossing the ball into Israel's lap. "We rely on Israel to get cash into Gaza" -- $20 million and NIS 20 million respectively each month, he explained – "which covers staff salaries and buying materials for our programs – we buy local wherever we can."