Gaza鈥檚 civil defence agency and hospitals said Tuesday that Israeli forces killed at least 41 people across the territory, including 17 near an aid distribution centre.
The Israeli military has pressed on with its offensive even as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced support for US president Donald Trump鈥檚 plan to end the war.
Officials from Gaza鈥檚 civil defence agency 鈥� a rescue force operating under Hamas authority 鈥� said 17 people were shot dead by Israeli forces near an aid distribution site near the Wadi Gaza bridge in central Gaza.
Al-Awda hospital confirmed receiving 17 bodies and said 33 people were wounded.
鈥榃e received 17 martyrs and 33 injured as a result of Israeli forces targeting gatherings of citizens near the humanitarian aid distribution area near Wadi Gaza Bridge in the central Gaza Strip,鈥� the hospital said in a statement.
Thousands of Palestinians congregate daily near food distribution points in Gaza, including those managed by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Since launching in late May, its operations have been marred by regular reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect aid.
An AFP journalist saw hundreds of children crowding a food distribution centre in Gaza鈥檚 central Nuseirat area, where volunteers were handing out rice and other supplies.
When asked about Tuesday鈥檚 incident near Wadi Gaza Bridge, the military said it was looking into it.
Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid supplies into Gaza since the start of the war nearly two years ago have led to shortages of food and essential items, including medicine and fuel, which hospitals require to power their generators.
The civil defence added that 15 more people were killed in several strikes in Gaza City, from where hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee due to Israeli air and ground assaults.
Nine others were killed elsewhere in the territory, it said.
On Monday, Trump unveiled a 20-point plan for an immediate halt to the war in Gaza, which Netanyahu backed.
Hamas has yet to respond, and on Tuesday Trump issued an ultimatum to the group.
Trump said that Hamas will face severe consequences if it does not accept within a few days his Gaza peace deal that calls for the disarmament of the Palestinian militant group.
鈥榃e have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don鈥檛 sign. I hope they sign for their own good and create something really great,鈥� Trump told US generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia.
He earlier told reporters he was giving Hamas 鈥榯hree or four days鈥� to respond to the proposed deal.
The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.
The deal also demands that Hamas militants be excluded from future roles in the government, but those who agreed to 鈥榩eaceful co-existence鈥� would be given amnesty.
World powers, including Arab and Muslim nations, welcomed the proposal, but Hamas has yet to issue its response.
Hamas was reviewing Trump鈥檚 plan for Gaza, while Netanyahu said the Israeli military would stay in most of the territory after he gave the US president his backing.
The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.
鈥楬amas has begun a series of consultations within its political and military leaderships, both inside Palestine and abroad,鈥� a Palestinian source said on condition of anonymity.
鈥楾he discussions could take several days due to the complexities.鈥�
Qatar, which hosts Hamas鈥檚 exiled leadership, said the group had promised to study the proposal 鈥榬esponsibly鈥�, and also said it would hold a meeting on the plan with Hamas and Turkey later on Tuesday.
鈥業t is still too early to speak about responses, but we are truly optimistic that this plan, as we said, is a comprehensive one,鈥� foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.
Residents of Gaza expressed scepticism over the latest peace plan unveiled by Trump, dismissing it as a farce that fails to end the war.
鈥業t鈥檚 clear that this plan is unrealistic鈥�, 39-year-old Ibrahim Joudeh said from his shelter in the so-called humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi in south Gaza.
鈥業t鈥檚 drafted with conditions that the US and Israel know Hamas will never accept. For us, that means the war and the suffering will continue鈥�, said the computer programmer, originally from the southern city of Rafah, devastated by a military offensive that began in May.
Other key points include deployment of a 鈥榯emporary international stabilisation force鈥� and creation of a transitional authority headed by Trump himself and featuring other foreign leaders.
The plan also stipulates that Hamas and other militant factions would not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form.
Abu Mazen Nassar, 52, was equally pessimistic, and feared that the plan aimed to trick Palestinian factions into releasing hostages held in Gaza and no peace in return.
鈥楾his is all manipulation. What does it mean to hand over all the prisoners without official guarantees to end the war?鈥� said Nassar, displaced from his home in north Gaza in central Gaza鈥檚 Deir el-Balah.
鈥榃e as a people will not accept this farce,鈥� he said, adding: 鈥榃hatever Hamas decides now about the deal, it鈥檚 too late.鈥�
鈥楬amas has lost us and drowned us in the flood it created.鈥�