Gaza rescuers say 16 killed by Israeli military

Gaza's civil defence agency said 16 people were killed in Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territory on Sunday, most of them while waiting for aid.

The first responders agency's teams transported the bodies of 16 people killed by Israeli fire in various parts of the Palestinian territory, spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

At least three people were killed and many injured when Israeli forces "targeted a gathering of hundreds of citizens near the aid distribution point" in central Gaza Sunday morning, Bassal said.

In the coastal territory's north, Bassal said civil defence teams transported seven people killed on their way to get aid distributed from trucks in the area northwest of Gaza City.

In south Gaza, two people were killed and 50 were injured "when (Israeli) forces opened fire on citizens near an aid distribution point," Bassal said.

Contacted by AFP, the army said it was "not aware of gunshots near Netzarim or Rafah", and that it was looking into the events in northern Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said Sunday the bodies of  26 people have arrived at hospitals over the past 24 hours in aid-related casualties, in addition to more than 117 injured people.

The total number of aid-related deaths reported at hospitals from designated aid distribution areas has now reached 300, with over 2,649 injuries, the ministry added.