JERUSALEM—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, the Israeli military said Tuesday.

Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the U.N. Security Council in New York 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, under which the U.N. would take charge of seeing that the aid would be used in authorized humanitarian projects.

The Israeli military statement noted that Israel offered to let the flotilla land at an Israeli port, and then transfer the aid overland to Gaza after inspection, but flotilla organizers refused.

The May 31 raid on the flotilla, when Israeli commandos clashed with pro-Palestinian activists and killed nine, has focused world attention on the blockade and its dire effects on Gaza's 1.5 million people. Israel has been under intense international pressure to ease or lift the embargo since the clash.

With Egypt's cooperation, Israel has blockaded Gaza by land and sea since Hamas overran Gaza three years ago. The embargo has allowed in little more than food, medicine and basic humanitarian goods, causing Gaza's already depressed economy to grind to a standstill. The embargo was meant to keep out weapons that would be turned on Israel, weaken the Hamas government and pressure militants to release an Israeli soldier who has been held for four years.

It bans building supplies like concrete from entering Gaza, on the ground that Hamas could use such materials to build fortifications.

Israel's top-level Security Cabinet was set to meet Wednesday to discuss easing the blockade, senior officials said. There was no word about whether decisions were expected. One proposal said to be on the table is to scrap Israel's list of permitted items and replace it with a list of goods Israel bans -- allowing all other products in.

In a typical week, Israel transfers about 500 truckloads of supplies to Gaza, plus 250,000 gallons of fuel for Gaza's electric power station, according to military figures.