Hamas has executed six Palestinians in Gaza and shot 13 others in the legs for alleged looting, the militant group said in a statement, as desperation grows under a complete Israeli blockade that has now entered its third month.

The death of Pope Francis and global aid cuts led by the United States could complicate the work of a group of experts assembled by the Vatican to bring debt relief and a fairer financing system to the world's poor.

Reports out of Gaza suggest that Hamas has executed a number of Palestinians it accused of looting after several incidents in which heavily armed gangs targeted food stores in the Palestinian enclave.