At least 51 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded in the Gaza Strip while waiting for U.N. and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and a local hospital.

Israeli tank shellfire killed at least 51 Palestinians as they awaited aid in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, the territory's health ministry said.

The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at people it referred to as suspects who it said had advanced toward its troops hundreds of yards from the aid site prior to its opening hours.