The Dutch government has expressed "indignation" at Israeli shelling of a United Nations relief agency in Gaza, Dutch media reported on Saturday.

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen conveyed his discontent to the Israeli ambassador in the Hague about the Israeli strike at the head office of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) for Palestine Refugees in Gaza, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

"The Netherlands has expressed indignation at the Israeli strike on UNWRA headquarters in Gaza, which set warehouses ablaze and claimed several victims," the statement said.

The Israeli army knew the location of the UN compound, and should have taken measures to prevent it from coming under fire, Verhagen said.

Dutch Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders said the Israeli action was "incomprehensible and unacceptable," and he is "deeply concerned" with humanitarian relief for residents of Gaza, which has now been suspended by UNWRA.

More than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and some 5,200 others wounded since Israel launched its Gaza offensive on December 27. The UN complex was shelled on Thursday during fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas militants.