Shifa Hospital said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza.

At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded by Israeli troops on Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a hospital that received the casualties.

The U.N. is due to start vaccinating some 640,000 children in the territory against polio, relying on daily eight-hour pauses in fighting.

Two Israeli rights groups said Israel was carrying out "coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza strip."

Israel has announced a daily “tactical pause in military activity” in three areas of Gaza to enable more aid to reach people, amid growing international outrage over starvation in the territory.

The leading international authority on food crises predicted "widespread death" in Gaza without immediate action.

At least 48 Palestinians were killed and dozens were wounded on Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a local hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the U.