The toll was the deadliest yet in the near-daily shootings that have taken place as thousands of Palestinians move through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach the food centers.

Israeli fire killed at least 40 people, half of them near an aid distribution site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday, the territory's health ministry said.

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip said on Monday that Israeli soldiers shot and killed more than 30 people near a humanitarian aid distribution centre. More than 200 Palestinians were also injured in the incident in Rafah,