At least 38 Palestinians were killed while seeking humanitarian aid across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the enclave’s Health Ministry said.

The Associated Press reported that many of the victims were killed near aid distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and United Nations convoys. Eyewitnesses said Israeli forces opened fire on the crowds.

In a separate incident, an overturned aid truck crushed a group of people, killing at least 20 more, the ministry said.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they had fired warning shots to disperse crowds, a claim it has made in similar past incidents.

The GHF — which is backed by the United States and Israel but condemned by the United Nations — said no attacks took place near its centers.

The latest violence comes as U.N.-affiliated human rights experts called for the GHF to be dismantled on Tuesday. They said the group was being “exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breaches of international law.”

In a statement, Gaza’s media office also condemned the current aid distribution system.

Israel “deliberately obstructs the safe passage and distribution of this aid,” the office said. “It forces drivers to navigate routes overcrowded with starving civilians who have been waiting for weeks for the most basic necessities.”

“This often results in desperate crowds swarming the trucks and forcibly seizing their contents,” the statement added.

Reports of Palestinians being killed near aid trucks have become an almost daily occurrence, as starvation intensifies across the enclave.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least 193 Palestinians, including 96 children, have died from starvation since the war began in October 2023. Of those, 88 deaths were reported in July alone.

Last month, France, the U.K., Canada, Portugal and Malta announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood during the U.N. General Assembly in September, citing the worsening humanitarian crisis as justification.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had denied the credibility of the starvation reports, despite the international pressure.