Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, most of them near an aid site operated by the United States and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the centre of the enclave, local health officials said.
Medical officials at Shifa and al-Quds hospitals said at least 25 people were killed and dozens wounded as they approached a food distribution centre near the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim.
Israel's military said its forces fired warning shots overnight towards a group of suspects as they posed a threat to troops in the area of the Netzarim Corridor.
"This is despite warnings that the area is an active combat zone. The IDF is aware of reports regarding individuals injured; the details are under review," it said.
Later on Wednesday, health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip said at least 14 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire as they approached another GHF site in Rafah.
The foundation said it was unaware of Wednesday's incidents but added that it was working closely with Israeli authorities to ensure safe passage routes are maintained, and that it was essential for Palestinians to closely follow instructions.
In a statement, GHF said it distributed 2.5 million meals on Wednesday, marking the largest single-day delivery since its operations started in late May, and bringing the total number of meals provided to more than 16 million.
Gaza's health ministry says that since then, 163 Palestinians have been killed and over 1,000 wounded trying to obtain the food boxes.
The United Nations has condemned the killings and has refused to supply aid via the foundation, which uses private contractors with Israeli military backup in what they say is a breach of humanitarian standards.
Elsewhere in Gaza, its health ministry said at least 11 other people were killed by separate Israeli gunfire and strikes across the coastal enclave.
Palestinians carry bags containing food and humanitarian aid packages in Rafah. Source: AAP / AP / Abdel Kareem Hana
Bodies of two hostages recovered in Gaza
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the bodies of two hostages had been recovered from Gaza by the military and the domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet.
Netanyahu said in a statement the body of hostage Yair Yaakov had been retrieved, along with that of another hostage whose identity has not been cleared for publication.
The Israeli military said militants from the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad abducted and killed Yaakov during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel in 2023.
Militants also took Yaakov's partner, Meirav Tal, and two of his children, Or and Yagil, hostage but later released them, the military said. Yaakov was 59 at the time of his death.
The military said it notified the family of the second hostage whose body it recovered, adding that it retrieved the bodies in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza.
An undated photo of Israeli hostage Yair Yaakov. Israel says it has recovered the remains of Yaakov and one other person. Source: AAP / AP
The latest recovery brings to five the number of hostage bodies retrieved by Israeli forces so far this month.
Hamas killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 to Gaza in its attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, according to Israeli tallies.
Nearly 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's subsequent campaign against Hamas in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, and flattened much of the densely populated strip, which is home to more than two million people.
Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread.
