JERUSALEM (AP) — 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.

Palestinians say Israeli forces and allied local gunmen fired toward a crowd heading to an Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution center in the Gaza Strip

The Israeli military said in a statement that troops had opened fire in southern Gaza but said that it had directed warning shots at a group that was moving towards soldiers and deemed a threat to them.