Gaza鈥檚 civil defence agency said on Saturday that Israeli fire killed 26 people and wounded more than 100 near two aid centres, in the latest deaths of Palestinians seeking food.
Deaths of people waiting for handouts in huge crowds near food points in Gaza have become a regular occurrence, with the territory鈥檚 authorities frequently blaming Israeli fire.
But the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has replaced UN agencies as the main distributor of aid in the territory, has accused militant group Hamas of fomenting unrest and shooting at civilians.
Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the deaths happened near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and another centre northwest of Rafah, both in southern Gaza, attributing the deaths to 鈥業sraeli gunfire鈥�.
One witness said he headed to the Al-Tina area of Khan Yunis before dawn with five of his relatives to try to get food when 鈥業sraeli soldiers鈥� started shooting.
Three other witnesses also accused troops of opening fire.
In response, the Israeli military said it 鈥榠dentified suspects who approached them during operational activity in the Rafah area, posing a threat to the troops鈥�.
Soldiers called for them to turn back and 鈥榓fter they did not comply, the troops fired warning shots鈥�, it said, adding that it was aware of the reports about casualties.
GHF said reports of deaths near its sites were 鈥榝alse鈥�.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.
The World Food Programme said nearly one in three people in Gaza were not eating for days at a stretch and 鈥榯housands鈥� were 鈥榦n the verge of catastrophic hunger鈥�.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, on Saturday said it had enough food for all of Gaza for more than three months but it was stockpiled in warehouses and blocked from being delivered.
The free flow of aid into Gaza is a key demand of Hamas in indirect negotiations with Israel for a 60-day ceasefire in the war, alongside a full Israeli military withdrawal.
After a more than two-month Israeli aid blockade, GHF took over the running of aid distribution in late May, despite criticism from the United Nations, which previously coordinated handouts, that it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
GHF acknowledged for the first time that 20 people died at its Khan Yunis site on Wednesday but blamed 鈥榓gitators in the crowd... armed and affiliated with Hamas鈥� for creating 鈥榓 chaotic and dangerous surge鈥� and firing at aid-seekers.
The previous day, the UN said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 鈥榠n the vicinity of GHF sites鈥�, since it began operating.
Hamas鈥檚 2023 attack on Israel led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel鈥檚 retaliatory military action has killed 58,765 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
