Israeli strike kills 18 picking up aid as IDF said to target Hamas-linked unit distributing it

An Israeli strike hit a street in central Gaza on Thursday, where witnesses say a crowd of people was getting bags of flour from a Hamas-linked police unit that had confiscated the goods from gangs looting aid convoys. Hospital officials said 18 people were killed.

The strike in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Thursday appeared to target members of the Hamas-linked Sahm unit, a security group tasked with stopping looters and cracking down on merchants who sell stolen aid at high prices. The unit is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry, but includes members of other factions.

Witnesses say the Sahm unit was distributing bags of flour and other goods confiscated from looters and corrupt merchants, drawing a crowd when the strike hit.

Video of the aftermath showed bodies, several torn, of multiple young men in the street with blood splattering on the pavement and walls of buildings. The dead included a child and at least seven Sahm members, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where casualties were taken.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has accused the Hamas terror group of stealing aid and using it to prop up its rule in the enclave. Israeli forces have repeatedly struck Gaza’s police, considering them a branch of Hamas.