Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed at least 30 people when they opened fire Wednesday on a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid in the north of the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli military said it had no knowledge of casualties in the incident north of Gaza City, as the United Nations said that pauses in Israel's offensive against Hamas were not enough to help the population through a deepening hunger crisis.
The U.N. humanitarian agency, OCHA, said that four days into Israel's "tactical pauses," people were still dying from hunger and malnutrition, alongside casualties among those seeking aid.
Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "at least 30 martyrs were killed" and 300 wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid north of Gaza City.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said his facility had received 35 bodies from the shooting, which reportedly struck about 2 miles southwest of the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering Gaza.
The Israeli army said that dozens of Gaza residents were seen "gathering around aid trucks in northern Gaza, and in close proximity to IDF (Israel Defense Forces) troops operating in the area.
"The troops fired warning shots in the area, not directed at the gathering, in response to the threat posed to them. According to an initial inquiry, the IDF is not aware of any casualties as a result of IDF fire. The details of the incident are still being examined."
Hours earlier, 14 Palestinians were killed in four other incidents, three near aid distribution sites, the civil defense agency said.
In two of the incidents, the Israeli army said it had fired warning shots.
Pauses Not Enough
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense and other parties.
Gaza has been in the grip of war for almost 22 months and, according to a U.N.-mandated report, its over 2 million inhabitants now face an unfolding famine.
The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 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 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 Hamas-run government's health ministry.
Food Aid Airdrops
Amid an international outcry over Gaza's food crisis, Israel has observed a daytime pause in military operations since the weekend on secure routes and in built-up areas to boost aid delivery and distribution.
Airdrops of food have also been staged by the Jordanian air force, the United Arab Emirates, and Britain. France said it plans to start delivering 40 tons of aid from Friday.
OCHA said that the conditions for delivering aid were "far from sufficient" to meet the immense needs of its "desperate, hungry people."
Israel's pauses alone "do not allow for the continuous flow of supplies required to meet immense needs levels in Gaza," OCHA said in an update.
"For example, for U.N. drivers to access the Kerem Shalom crossing — a fenced-off area — Israeli authorities must approve the mission, provide a safe route through which to travel, provide multiple 'green lights' on movement, as well as a pause in bombing, and, ultimately, open the iron gates to allow them to enter."
"Desperate, hungry people" offload the small amounts of aid from the trucks that are able to exit the crossings, it added.
Ceasefire Talks Halted
Amid deadlocked talks on a ceasefire, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday.
Witkoff has been involved in indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The discussions broke down last week when Israel and the United States recalled their delegations from Doha, Qatar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel and the United States were "considering alternative options to bring our hostages home."
Witkoff "will meet with officials to discuss next steps in addressing the situation in Gaza," a U.S. official told AFP.
Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt called this week on Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war.