Hamas executes looters in Gaza as food crisis worsens under Israeli blockade

Hamas has executed a number of alleged looters after several incidents in which heavily armed gangs attacked food stores and community kitchens in the Gaza Strip this week, sources close to the Palestinian militant group said.

Hamas has accused some of the looters of working in collaboration with Israel, which has sealed off aid from entering Gaza for the past two months. In one incident, Hamas-run interior ministry said a police officer was killed and others were wounded when an Israeli drone fired a missile at a police unit chasing criminals in Gaza City.

“We will strike with an iron fist all these renegades, and we will take necessary measures to deter them, and we will not allow them to continue terrorising citizens, threatening lives, and stealing their property.”

“The gangs, some of them armed, have terrorised people, stopping some people on the roads and taking away their money and phones,” said a local. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed at least 40 people across Gaza in the past 24 hours, health ministry said.

This is a Reuters' story