United Nations and European Union (EU) officials said they are puzzled how to send aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Gaza following the Hamas takeover and continuing brutality. The United Nations has virtually stopped distributing food to families in Gaza after two of its workers were killed in Thursday's rampage by Hamas militia terrorists, and the European Commission has suspended humanitarian aid.

The most immediate problem is how to bring in food through the Karni Crossing, which has been closed because of the situation.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas asked him to consider deploying an international force in Gaza. "If we decide to have an international presence in Gaza, where to locate them, what would be the terms of reference, what would their missions [would] be," Ban asked.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri rejected the idea out of hand, stating that the terrorist party "would regard these forces as occupation forces, no different to the Israeli occupation, regardless of their nationality."