UN agency demands return of relief items

NEW YORK: The United Nations agency tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees has demanded the return of relief items confiscated by the police, who broke into one of its warehouses in Gaza and seized the supplies."UNRWA condemns in the strongest terms the confiscation of its aid supplies and has demanded that it is returned immediately," the agency said.The supplies were confiscated Tuesday afternoon from a distribution store at Beach Camp in Gaza by police personnel, after the staff had earlier refused to hand them over to the Hamas-run Ministry of Social Affairs.UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes also demanded that the aid confiscated by Hamas personnel be returned immediately, condemning the incident as unacceptable.Holmes stressed that while the UN and its partners are doing their utmost to provide for the basic humanitarian needs of 1.4 million civilians affected by the recent 22-day Israeli military operation, such actions could jeopardize the provision of aid.