A large number of starving people in the Gaza Strip have been killed by Israeli fire while waiting for UN aid trucks, the Rome-based World Food Programme said on Sunday.

Shortly after crossing through the northern Zikim crossing into Gaza, a 25 WFP truck convoy encountered large crowds of civilians waiting to access food supplies, the UN agency said on X.

“As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers, and other gunfire,” it said.

The incident resulted in the loss of “countless lives” with many more suffering critical injuries, WFP said.

“These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation. This terrible incident underscores the increasingly dangerous conditions under which humanitarian operations are forced to be conducted in GAZA,” it added.

Local health authorities reported 67 Palestinians were killed, while Palestinian news agency WAFA reported 58 dead and at least 60 injured.

The Israeli military said warning shots had been fired amid “an imminent threat” and expressed doubts about the reported casualty figures.

The details of the incident are currently being investigated, the military said, but added an initial review indicated that the reported casualty figures do not match the information provided by the army.

The information could not be independently verified at first.

WAFA, citing medical sources, reported that 132 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including 94 aid seekers.

The UN and aid organizations report catastrophic conditions in the Gaza Strip, whose almost two million residents are almost entirely dependent on aid to survive following almost 22 months of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

According to UN figures, hundreds have died in the vicinity of aid distribution points and around aid convoys since the end of May.

(dpa /NAN)