The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that on Tuesday, a further 36 Palestinians were killed and 207 wounded when they were allegedly fired upon while attempting to reach humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Humanitarian groups and experts argue that Israel's continuous blockade, along with a 20-month military operation, has brought Gaza very near to famine.

At least 163 people have been killed and 1,495 injured in several shooting incidents near aid distribution centers. These centers are run by the Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and are situated in military zones where independent journalists are not allowed. The Israeli military has stated that they previously fired warning shots at individuals they believed were approaching their forces in a suspicious way.

The foundation states that there has been no violence at or near the distribution points. However, it has advised people to remain on the marked access routes and temporarily stopped deliveries last week to discuss better safety with the military.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that there was "significant progress" on a possible ceasefire deal. This agreement could also lead to the return of some of the 55 hostages still held in Gaza, but he warned that it was "too early to be hopeful." Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also confirmed on Tuesday that there was progress in the ceasefire talks.

According to Nasser Hospital, at least eight people died in southern Gaza near Rafah while trying to get humanitarian aid.

According to Nader Garghoun, a spokesperson for al-Awda Hospital, two men and a child died in northern Gaza on Tuesday, and at least 130 people were injured. The hospital received these casualties, and most of them were being treated for gunshot wounds.

Witnesses reported that Israeli forces started shooting at about 2 a.m., a few hundred meters from the aid distribution point in central Gaza. Many Palestinians often go to these sites hours before dawn to get much-needed food, hoping to avoid large crowds.

The Israeli military stated it discharged warning shots at individuals it considered suspects. It claimed these individuals had moved within a few hundred meters of the aid distribution point before it opened, posing a perceived threat to their personnel.

Mohammed Abu Hussein, a resident of the adjacent Bureij refugee camp, reported that Israeli drones and tanks initiated fire, and he witnessed five individuals sustaining gunshot wounds.

Abed Haniyah, another witness, stated that Israeli forces started shooting "indiscriminately" as thousands of people were trying to get to the food distribution point.

He stated that humiliation happened every day, and he expressed sorrow that people were often killed while attempting to get food for their children.

Furthermore, the health ministry reported that an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of three Palestinian paramedics.

The health ministry stated that its emergency medical teams were helping people after an Israeli attack on a house in Jaffa Street, Gaza City, when a second attack hit the same building. The Israeli military did not comment on this specific event, but mentioned that its air force had attacked many locations linked to Hamas's military facilities, including rocket launchers, over the past day.

The U.N. has dismissed the novel aid mechanism.

Israel and the United States state that the new food distribution system has been established to stop Hamas from taking humanitarian aid and using it to fund militant activities.

The United Nations, which has a system for delivering aid to all areas of Gaza, states that there is no clear proof of systematic diversion.

UN agencies and major aid organizations have refused to work with the new system. They say it goes against humanitarian principles because it lets Israel decide who gets aid and forces Palestinians to move to only three places that are currently working.

The other two distribution centers are located in Rafah, a southern city that is now mostly empty and has been turned into a military zone by Israel. Israeli forces keep a border around all three centers, so Palestinians have to go near them to get to the distribution points.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested creating a "safe zone" in Rafah to remove Hamas and move all the people living there. He has also mentioned that Israel plans to help many of Gaza's two million Palestinians move to other countries, which he calls voluntary. However, these ideas have been largely rejected by the international community, including the Palestinians, who see them as forced removal.

The war began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. During this attack, Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians, and took 251 others as hostages. Currently, 55 hostages are still being held, and it is believed that fewer than half of them are alive. The majority of the other hostages were released through ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Gaza's Health Ministry states that Israel's military campaign has resulted in the deaths of almost 55,000 Palestinians, with women and children forming the majority. However, the ministry does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel claims to have killed more than 20,000 militants, but it has not offered any proof.

The conflict has devastated large parts of Gaza, causing about 90% of its residents to be displaced, often more than once.