At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said, in the latest bout of chaos and bloodshed to plague the aid operation.
The Israeli military claims its forces had opened fire on a group of individuals who had left designated access routes near the distribution centre in Rafah.
The US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) launched its first distribution sites last week. The GHF's aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities, which say it does not follow humanitarian principles.
The private group, owned by Israeli businessmen and former military officers, claimed it had delivered 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and that the operation was "conducted safely and without incident inside the site".
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that "deadly attacks" on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted "a war crime".