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.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has closed its aid distribution sites for the day, without giving a date on when they would open again.

Israel's military announced Friday the deaths of four soldiers in Gaza, saying it needed thousands more troops to press its offensive, just as the premier's coalition faces the prospect of collapse over ultra-Orthodox conscription.

By Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily BEIRUT (Reuters) -Israeli air strikes pummelled the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital late on Thursday, sending thousands of people fleeing on the eve of a Muslim feast day and prompting accusations by top Lebanese officials that Israel was violating a ceasefire deal.

The Israeli military carried out strikes on Hezbollah “drone factories” in southern Lebanon and suburbs of Beirut on Thursday, as large plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the Lebanese capital.