UPDATE - Several killed, dozens injured as Israeli forces shell Palestinians waiting for aid in northern Gaza

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM GAZA-BASED GOVERNMENT MEDIA OFFICE; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEAD

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Several Palestinians were killed and dozens injured on Tuesday in a new Israeli shelling of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting to receive aid near Kuwait roundabout, Salameh Maarouf, head of the Gaza-based government media office, said in a statement.

He said the new attack brought the death toll of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid to 400 people with 1,300 others injured.

Earlier, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that at least nine people were killed and more than 20 others injured when the Israeli army dropped bombs and opened fire on Palestinians waiting for aid trucks south of Gaza City.

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the enclave's civil defense unit, told Anadolu that the Israeli army targeted Palestinians waiting for aid trucks near the Kuwait roundabout south of Gaza City.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

More than 31,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 27 people have died of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Ahmed Asmar in Ankara contributed to this report