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."

The hunger crisis in Gaza has many asking if Israel had a deliberate policy of starving civilians. Israelis say that was never the case, but an ignorance of Palestinian suffering allowed an inconsistent government policy to lead to a calamity.