Israel is supporting armed groups of Palestinians in Gaza in what it says is a move to counter Hamas. But officials from the U.N. and aid organizations say the military is allowing them to loot food and other supplies from their trucks.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 36 Palestinians on Saturday, six of them in a shooting near a US-backed aid distribution centre.The Israeli military told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at individuals that it said were "advancing in a way that endangered the troops".

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has closed its aid distribution sites for the day, without giving a date on when they would open again.