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.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has "operated clans" in Gaza in a video published on social media Thursday after an opposition leader accused him of arming Palestinian militias in order to bolster opposition to Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged only that Israel had been working with “clans.” But the opposition leader warned that the “weapons going into Gaza will eventually be pointed at Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The airstrikes on the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, an area where Hezbollah holds sway, were some of the heaviest since a U.S.-brokered cease-fire came into effect in November.

The Israeli military has struck several sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs that it said held underground facilities used by Hezbollah for drone production

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.