Armed men from various factions 'helping to protect aid in Gaza'

Armed and masked men from various factions and clans are providing security for aid convoys in Gaza, Palestinian officials and sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Reuters obtained footage of international aid trucks entering Gaza City overnight, overseen by men wielding sticks and armed with AK-47 assault rifles. 

Israel's war on Gaza, and its objective to eliminate Hamas, has made it risky for anyone associated with the group to provide security for aid deliveries into the enclave.

As a result, civil society groups and factions are stepping in, including individuals from Fatah, Hamas's political rival, according to Palestinian officials and Hamas sources. 

The identities of the clans and factions helping were not revealed. Sources told Reuters that Hamas helped to rally these groups, and that Israeli attempts to create tribal administrations in Gaza were being resisted.

"Israel's plan to find some clans to collaborate with its pilot projects of finding an alternative to Hamas didn't succeed but it also showed that Palestinian resistance factions are the only ones who can run the show, in one way or another," said an unnamed Palestinian official.