(JTA) — A U.N. relief agency is suspending operations in the Gaza Strip until Hamas returns supplies it seized.
A spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said Friday that unless Hamas refrains from not interfering with distribution it will not resume operations.
The terrrorist group, which controls Gaza, seized 200 tons of food and supplies this week that had been stored by UNRWA, the largest distributor of relief in the strip. Western nations ban direct dealings with Hamas; the group seeks control of all facets of relief in areas it controls as a way of maintaining its political leverage.
There were multiple reports this week of armed Hamas men raiding UNRWA storage areas.
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