At least 24 people have been shot dead while en route to an aid distribution site in Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian health officials said.
The incident unfolded close to an aid hub near Rafah run by The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American organisation.
One injured man said he was about 200 metres from the site when an Israeli tank started firing at crowds.
“We were together, and they shot us at once,” Abdullah al-Haddad said. He was in hospital with an injured leg.
Israel’s military said it fired warning shots toward people it said were behaving suspiciously to prevent them from approaching, and was not aware of any casualties.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said no incident occurred near its sites.
A woman whose son was killed in the shooting said she had previously stopped him from going to the site, because she thought it was too dangerous.
“He said to me, ‘Mom, you don’t have flour and today I’ll go and bring you flour, even if I die, I’ll go and get it,’” Sumaya al-Sha’er said.
“But he never came back home.”
According to the United Nations, at least 798 people have been killed by Israeli fire at food distribution points in Gaza since the end of May, with the majority of incidents at sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The GHF denies there has been violence in or around its sites.
The UN and other aid groups have said they struggle to distribute aid due to widespread looting and Israeli military restrictions.
Meanwhile, at least 28 Palestinians, including four children, were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian health officials said.
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The deaths come amid intense airstrikes in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, and Khan Younis in the south of the territory.
Ceasefire talks are ongoing following two days of meetings between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump had said he was closing in on an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would bring the release of more hostages from Gaza and potentially wind down the war.
The militant group still holds some 50 hostages, with at least 20 believed to remain alive.
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