U.N. to check on Hamas human shields

JERUSALEM, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The United Nations plans to look into reports that Hamas used children as human shields in last month's Israel clash in Gaza, a top official says.

"It is still very difficult for us to say that it was actually happening and we still need to conduct a full investigation into what exactly took place," Radhika Coomaraswamy, U.N. special representative for Children and Armed Conflict, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview following a four-day visit to the region.

"It is absolutely possible that Hamas was using its civilians as human shields," she said.

However, she said, the U.N.'s policy not to meet with leading members of the Hamas government because it was officially considered a terrorist organization seriously hampered all types of humanitarian relief work in the Gaza Strip.

"It makes all our humanitarian jobs very difficult, because we cannot meet with Hamas at a political level," said Coomaraswamy, who this week met with high-level Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials.

"The amount and kinds of supplies allowed into Gaza must be significantly expanded for any real improvement to occur," Coomaraswamy wrote in her news release.

"Humanitarian agencies must not be hampered in assisting the population and their workers authorized easy access into Gaza.

"Hamas must respect that humanitarian aid cannot be diverted."