At least 30 Palestinians were killed and around 300 wounded by Israeli gunfire while waiting for humanitarian aid in northern Gaza on Wednesday, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency. Al-Shifa Hospital later reported receiving 48 bodies.
The Israeli military said it fired “warning shots” near a crowd gathered around aid trucks southwest of the Zikim crossing but claimed it was unaware of any casualties and is reviewing the incident.
Separately, Gaza hospital sources told the BBC that six Palestinians were killed near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid site in Rafah. The GHF denied any deaths at its facilities. The IDF said it fired warning shots from a distance at a group it considered a threat.
According to the UN, over 1,000 Palestinians have died trying to access food aid since May. Gaza’s health ministry says more than 150 people, including 89 children, have died from malnutrition since the war began.
The incident comes amid growing global concern over Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis. The UN and several countries accuse Israel of restricting aid, despite Israeli claims to the contrary. UN Secretary General António Guterres said the current trickle of aid “must become an ocean.”
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Israel Thursday to address the crisis. Meanwhile, Canada joined France and the UK in backing Palestinian state recognition at the UN General Assembly in September.
Since October 2023, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Hamas authorities. The war began after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.