GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Gaza’s civil defense agency said that Israeli forces on Tuesday killed at least 50 people gathered near an aid distribution site in Khan Yunis in the territory’s south, updating an earlier toll.

Civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that at least 50 people were killed and more than 200 wounded as thousands of Palestinians gathered to receive flour at a charity aid center in the morning.

“Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded,” he said.

The Israeli army told AFP it was “looking into” the incident.

Gaza’s health ministry later reported that as a result of the incident, “51 martyrs and more than 200 injuries have arrived at Nasser Medical Complex, including 20 in critical condition.”

The Gaza Strip has been ravaged by more than 20 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, with the situation continuing to deteriorate on the ground.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that 5,139 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on the territory on 18 March following a truce.

The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out on 7 October 2023 has reached 55,432 people, according to the health ministry.