At least 59 Palestinians were killed and over 200 injured on Tuesday near an aid distribution center in the southern city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. It is one of the deadliest attacks on Palestinians seeking supplies in the past three weeks.

Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassel told Al Jazeera that the Israeli military fired on the large crowd.

“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.

Eyewitnesses described the attack as a “massacre,” saying dozens of civilians who were trying to get flour, including children, were among the dead. The casualties were taken to the Nasser Hospital Complex, where medical staff warned that the death toll is likely to rise.

The aid site has reportedly been run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), a privately owned organization backed by the United States and Israel but condemned by the United Nations for alleged breaches of international aid law. 

The incident comes one day after eyewitnesses claimed that Israeli forces also fired on Palestinians gathered near another GHF site in Rafah, killing 38 people.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that they are “aware” of the reports but have not commented on the details.

Over 300 Palestinians have been killed in similar incidents since late May, which have become an almost daily occurrence. GHF officials have denied allegations of violence around their sites.

Following Tuesday’s attack, the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, issued a statement on X.

 “Hungry and desperate people are being killed in Gaza while trying to get food for their families,” it read, adding that the aid systems run by the agency and others  “must be reinstated.”

Israel has barred UNRWA from operating in Gaza since January, alleging that some of its staff participated in the Hamas-led October 7 attack, an accusation the agency denies.