At least 51 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded in Gaza while they waited for an aid delivery to the Strip, local hospitals and health workers said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred when Israeli forces carried out an air strike on a nearby home before opening fire towards a group of people in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to reports.
According to the Israeli military, soldiers had observed the group beside an aid truck that was stranded in Khan Younis, close to the area where IDF forces were conducting operations.
“There are reports of several casualties from IDF gunfire as the crowd approached. The details are being investigated,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
The shooting did not appear to be related to the Israel- and US-supported aid delivery network, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), that began operations last month and whose work has been marred by controversy and violence.
Israeli forces have been repeatedly accused of opening fire on crowds trying to reach GHF-run food distribution points, killing scores and wounding hundreds, according to international organisations.
In those instances, the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots at people it said had suspiciously approached its forces.
Desperation grows over aid system
Israel says the new system operated by the private GHF contractor is designed to prevent Hamas from siphoning off aid to fund its militant activities.
UN agencies and major aid groups deny there is any major diversion of aid and have rejected the new system, saying it cannot meet the mounting needs in Gaza and that it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who has access to aid.
Experts have warned for months of imminent famine across much of the territory that is home to some 2 million Palestinians.
The UN-run network has delivered aid to Gaza throughout the 20-month Israel-Hamas war but has faced significant obstacles since Israel loosened a total blockade it had imposed from early March until mid-May.
UN officials say Israeli military restrictions, a breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it challenging to deliver the aid that Israel has allowed in.
