Israeli strikes and shootings kill at least 33 Palestinians, including those sheltering in tents, as famine is officially declared in Gaza.
It follows months of warnings from relief organizations that civilians are starving as a result of Israel's restrictions on food entering Gaza.
However, while its military moves forward with plans to take control of Gaza City, Israel continues to deny the famine proclamation.
According to Nasser Hospital health officials and morgue records, Israeli attacks killed at least 17 individuals in the southern Gaza Strip early Saturday.
Tents housing displaced persons in Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate from other parts of Gaza, were the focus of the strikes. Women and children make up over half of the deceased.
Eleven people were killed in other attacks on Gaza on Saturday, according to hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Israel's military claimed they were not aware of a strike in Khan Younis at that location and were "looking into" the other incidents.
Yesterday, a famine was officially declared in Gaza for the first time since Israel began its full-scale war on Palestinians 22 months ago.
Israeli gunfire killed at least five aid-seekers in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing with Israel, where the UN and other agencies' convoys enter the enclave, according to health officials at the Sheikh Radwan field hospital.
Over 271 individuals, 121 of whom were children, have already perished from starvation as a result of Israel's closure of UN food distribution centers, bombing of bakeries, and restriction of humanitarian access.
The commissioner-general of UNRWA, the UN organization that aids Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, previously told Metro that Israel is using hunger as a weapon of war in Palestinian territory.
Famine has officially been recognized in Gaza by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), some three months later.
In Gaza, over 500,000 people live in appalling conditions marked by death, destitution, and malnutrition.
According to an IPC report, 396,000 people are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and another 1.07 million are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4).
There have been reports of Israeli military shooting at charity workers, as well as pandemonium and security issues on the highways leading to aid supplies, according to journalists.
According to Israel's military, warning shots are fired whenever someone approaches the troops or threatens them.
What immediate measures could prevent civilians being shot while queuing?
Strict adherence to international humanitarian law (IHL) by all combatants, including the obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and to avoid targeting civilians or gatherings such as aid queues.
Effective advance warnings and clear communication to civilians about safe times and places for aid distribution to reduce confusion and unintended exposure during military operations.
Verification of targets and careful choice of tactics and weapons by military forces to minimize civilian harm, with suspension or cancellation of attacks that risk disproportionate casualties.