Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire on Wednesday on Palestinians waiting to collect humanitarian aid in the northern Gaza Strip, giving a preliminary death toll of 30.
"At least 30 martyrs were killed ... waiting for aid north of Gaza City," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, adding that more than 300 were wounded.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, told AFP his facility received 35 bodies of people killed in the shooting.
The shooting reportedly happened near the coast, about three kilometres southwest of the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip from the north.
The Israeli army told AFP the reports were under review.
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The deadly shooting came hours after 14 Palestinians were killed in four other separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, three of which occurred near aid distribution sites, the civil defence agency said.
In two of these incidents, the army said it had fired warning shots at people approaching the aid sites.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by the Israeli-and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to witnesses, local health officials and the UN human rights office.
The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.
The Gaza Strip has been in the grip of war for almost 22 months and now, according to a UN-mandated report, its two-million-plus inhabitants are facing an unfolding famine as Israel continues to restrict the amount of aid entering the besieged territory.
A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The territory's health ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults.
Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed.
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International airdrops of aid have also resumed, but many of the parcels have landed in areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of "widespread death" without immediate action.
Israel's Gaza campaign was triggered by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 60,138 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory's health ministry.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
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