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A Palestinian boy collects gravel at an abandoned airport damaged by past Israeli air strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The gravel will be used for new construction. Image Credit: Reuters

Occupied Jerusalem: The Israeli military said that the United Nations will take to Gaza tons of aid supplies languishing in an Israeli port for two weeks since they were seized in a bloody sea confrontation.

Robert Serry, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday that Israel agreed to release the cargo "on the understanding that it is for the United Nations to determine its appropriate humanitarian use in Gaza."

The military said the aid, taken from a six-ship Gaza-bound flotilla, would fill 70 trucks.

Up to now, the Hamas rulers of Gaza have refused to accept the aid as a protest against Israel's three-year blockade of the territory. Hamas had no comment on the arrangement.