At least 35 Palestinians have been killed after Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Friday.
According to the Hamas-run Civil Defence authority, this includes 12 who were guarding incoming aid lorries.
The BBC report that seven guards were killed in a strike in the city of Rafah near the border of Egypt.
A further five guards were left dead in Khan Younis
Israeli defence forces have claimed they carried out “precise strikes on armed Hamas terrorists” who were planning to hijack lorries.
Another Israeli attack was claimed to have killed 15 people near Nuseirat refugee camp.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Hamas Civil Defence, said: “The occupation once again targeted those securing the aid trucks.”
He also said that around 30 people, mainly children, were wounded in the two strikes.
The lorries were reported to have been carrying flour to warehouses belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
UN aid workers have said that violent armed thefts remain the biggest obstacle to bringing aid to southern Gaza where serious food shortages are a problem.
The remainders of Hamas police and civilians have attempted to stop the gangs.
Hamas further claim that Israeli military strikes have killed around 700 police who were protecting aid lorries since the conflict escalated last October.
The Hamas-run health ministry further estimate that 44,800 have been killed in Gaza since then.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said: “Overnight, following intelligence information indicating the presence of Hamas terrorists, the IDF conducted precise strikes on armed Hamas terrorists gathered at two different meeting points in southern Gaza.”
They said “all of the terrorists that were eliminated were members of Hamas and planned to violently hijack humanitarian aid trucks and transfer them to Hamas”.
