At least 15 people killed while waiting to obtain food in Gaza

At least 15 people were killed on Tuesday when Israeli quadcopters fired at people waiting to enter a food distribution centre, according to the AFP.

Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 12 people were killed when Israeli quadcopters opened fire on people waiting to enter a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution centre in central Gaza, "at 6 or 7 am" on Tuesday.

Bassal added that another three people were killed by Israeli fire and shelling north of Wadi Gaza between 2:30 am and 5am on Tuesday local time as they waited to enter the same distribution centre.

"Several thousand civilians and hungry individuals had gathered in the hope of reaching the American aid centre near the Wadi Gaza bridge and the Netzarim corridor", Bassal told AFP.

The Israeli military acknowledged that it had fired "warning shots" during an incident near a food centre on Tuesday, but said the number of wounded did not match its data.

It said in a statement that "troops fired warning shots to distance suspects who were advancing in the area of Wadi Gaza and posed a threat to the troops".

"The warning shots were fired hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site, prior to its opening hours and toward the suspects who posed a threat to the troops."

The military did not mention quadcopters firing at a crowd.

Al-Awda hospital in central Gaza's Nuseirat camp said it had received three bodies and 100 wounded from the incident near the Wadi Gaza bridge.

There have been a series of killings of civilians lining up for aid since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation first opened aid distribution points in Gaza on 27 May, with 110 people shot dead by the Israeli military as of Sunday.