US said to ask Israel to stop targeting Hamas police officers escorting aid convoys in Gaza

The US has asked Israel to stop targeting Hamas policemen who are escorting aid convoys in Gaza, the Axios news site reports.

The report, citing three US and Israeli officials, comes after aid groups suspended deliveries to northern Gaza this week saying that the convoys were being overrun by hungry crowds who were looting the aid.

According to Axios, the Biden administration asked Israel to stop targeting members of the Hamas-run civilian police force, warning that a “total breakdown of law and order” is significantly exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

US officials say at least 11 Hamas policemen have been killed in Israeli strikes in recent weeks.

The report says Israel rebuffed the American request, saying that a clear goal of the war was to end all Hamas control in Gaza and that Israel was working on alternative plans to ensure law and order.