Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations aid agency in the Gaza Strip suspended all shipments into the Palestinian territory after Hamas seized relief supplies for the second time this week.

The suspension will remain in effect “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 UN said in a statement released in New York.

Ten truckloads of rice and flour were taken yesterday from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing by vehicles under contract to the Hamas Ministry of Social Affairs, according to the UN.

Hamas policemen on Feb. 4 seized 3,500 blankets and 400 food parcels that the UN intended to distribute to 500 families, the UN said. Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and European Union, denied the theft.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “demands” that Hamas immediately release the confiscated supplies and “refrain from interference with the provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” according to a statement released by the UN in New York.

Israel, which sealed its border crossings with Gaza when the militant Islamic Hamas group took over the territory in June 2007, has been allowing about 200 trucks into the impoverished seaside territory each day with humanitarian aid.

Israel and Hamas both claimed victory last month after a 22- day conflict in the Gaza Strip left more than 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

Israeli officials said they had succeeded in their main objective of limiting Hamas’s ability to fire rockets from Gaza into southern Israel. Hamas said sheer survival constituted success after the onslaught by sea, land and air by Israeli forces.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 6, 2009 13:08 EST