Israeli Airstrikes kill 36 Palestinians in Gaza,

Israel killed 13 Palestinians in two airstrikes on Thursday that Gaza medics and Hamas said were part of a force protecting humanitarian aid trucks, but Israel’s military said they were Hamas militants trying to hijack the shipment.

Many of those killed in the attacks on Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza had links to Hamas, medics, and Palestinian residents said. The 13 were among 36 Palestinians killed in separate Israeli attacks on Thursday, the medics said.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the two airstrikes aimed to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and accused Hamas members of planning to prevent the aid from reaching Gaza civilians who need it.

The statement said the Hamas members aimed to hijack the aid “in support of continuing terrorist activity.”

Armed gangs have repeatedly hijacked aid trucks after they roll into the enclave, and Hamas formed a task force to confront them. The Hamas-led forces have killed over two dozen members of the gangs in recent months, Hamas sources and medics said.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA initially reported those killed in the two airstrikes were guarding the aid trucks.

Hamas said Israeli military strikes have killed at least 700 police tasked with securing aid trucks in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023. It has accused Israel of trying to protect acts of looting and “creating anarchy and chaos to prevent aid from reaching the people of Gaza.”

Children were among seven people killed when a residential building in Gaza City’s al-Jalaa Street was bombed in a separate attack, WAFA said.

Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq