World denounced Israel as its troops in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid on Thursday in a chaotic incident that the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 100 people.

Though there were conflicting reports on how the pre-dawn incident unfolded, the Israeli military said a "stampede" occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some people being run over.

An Israeli source said troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat".

The Gaza health ministry condemned the "massacre" in Gaza City, saying 112 people were killed and more than 750 wounded.

Reactions to the deaths have poured in from around the world.

- US 'pressing for answers' -

US President Joe Biden said the incident would complicate delicate ceasefire negotiations in the almost five-month-old war, with the White House calling the deaths "tremendously alarming".

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters the United States was "urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place".

Washington will be monitoring an upcoming investigation closely and "pressing for answers", he said.

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- France says fire 'unjustifiable' -

France's foreign ministry said "the fire by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to access food is unjustifiable".

The "tragic event" came as an "increasing and unbearable number of Palestinian civilians" were suffering from hunger and disease, it added, saying Israel must abide by international law and protect aid deliveries to civilians.

Writing on the social media platform X that Palestinian "civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers", French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his "strongest condemnation" of the killings.

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- Turkey condemns 'crime against humanity' -

Turkey accused Israel of committing "another crime against humanity" and condemning Gazans to "famine" as civilians scavenge for dwindling supplies of food.

"The fact that Israel... this time targets innocent civilians in a queue for humanitarian aid, is evidence that (Israel) aims consciously and collectively to destroy the Palestinian people", the Turkish foreign ministry said.

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- Colombia scraps Israel arms purchases -

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro denounced what he called a "genocide" of the Palestinian people and suspended purchases of weapons from Israel, a key supplier of his country's security forces.

"Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu. This is called genocide and recalls the Holocaust," Petro wrote on X.

"The world must block Netanyahu."

- Spain condemns 'unacceptable' incident -

"The unacceptable nature of what happened in Gaza, with dozens of Palestinian civilians dead as they were waiting for food, underlines the urgency of a ceasefire," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares wrote on X.

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- Italy demands 'immediate ceasefire' -

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza and urged Israel to protect the Palestinian population after the "tragic deaths".

"We strongly urge Israel to protect the people in Gaza and to rigorously ascertain facts and responsibilities," he said on X.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her "deep dismay and concern" over the violence.

- UN condemnation -

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the incident and was "appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict", his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged north where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week," Dujarric said.

- EU decries 'carnage' -

European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell denounced the deaths as "totally unacceptable".

"I am horrified by news of yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid," he said on X.

- Qatar denounces 'heinous massacre' -

Qatar's foreign ministry condemned "in the strongest terms the heinous massacre committed by the Israeli occupation", calling for "urgent international action" to halt the fighting in Gaza.

It went on to warn that Israel's "disregard for Palestinian lives... will ultimately undermine international efforts aimed at implementing the two-state solution, and thus pave the way for the expansion of the cycle of violence in the region".

- Saudi Arabia calls for ceasefire -

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned the deaths and reiterated "the need to reach an immediate ceasefire".

It also renewed its "demands to the international community to take a firm position to oblige Israel to respect international humanitarian law, immediately open safe humanitarian corridors, allow the evacuation of the injured, and enable the delivery of relief aid".

UNSC asked to condemn Israel

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN on Thursday pleaded for the Security Council to condemn the episode in Gaza that saw Israeli forces open fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid.

"The Security Council should say enough is enough," Riyad Mansour told reporters ahead of a closed-door meeting by the body, which came at the request of Algeria.

The meeting was held to discuss the morning's events in Gaza, where Israeli forces opened fire on the Palestinians in a chaotic melee that the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed 112 people and injured 760.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat."

The Israeli military said a "stampede" occurred when thousands of desperate Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over by the lorries.

"This outrageous massacre is a testimony to the fact that as long as the Security Council is paralyzed and vetoes (are) casted, then it is costing the Palestinian people their lives," Mansour said.

As one of five permanent members of the 15-member council, the United States -- Israel's biggest ally -- has a veto that it has wielded three times so far to bar the body from calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.

At Thursday's meeting, Algeria put forth a draft declaration expressing "deep concern," which stated that the situation was "due to opening fire by Israel forces."

Of the Council's 15 members, "14 members supported the text," Mansour said after the meeting.

According to a diplomatic source, the United States opposed Israel being named, but discussions were ongoing.

"The parties are working on some language to see if we can get to a statement," US deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said.

"The problem is that we don't have all the facts here," he said, adding that he wanted the wording to reflect "the necessary due diligence with regards to culpability."

Mansour said he met earlier in the day with US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

"I implored her that the Security Council has to produce a product of condemning this killing and to go after those responsible for this massacre," he said.

If the Security Council has "a spine and determination to put an end to these massacres from happening all over again, what we need is a ceasefire," Mansour said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the situation "would require an effective independent investigation," into how the deaths occurred and who was responsible, after condemning the episode earlier in the day through his spokesman.
- Truce hopes -

The war began on October 7 with a Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 Israel says are presumed dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 30,035 people, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.

Israel's military says 242 soldiers have died in Gaza since ground operations began in late October.

Washington, a key ally of Israel, has been pushing for a reduction in civilian casualties and a ceasefire.

It has been working with mediators Egypt and Qatar to seek a six-week pause in the war.

Negotiators had hoped a truce could begin by the time the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, around March 10 or 11 depending on the lunar calendar.

The proposals reportedly involve the release of some Israeli hostages held by militants in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Short of the complete Israeli withdrawal Hamas has called for, a source from the group said the deal might see troops leave "cities and populated areas", allowing the return of some displaced Palestinians and humanitarian relief.

- Fears of famine -

The World Food Programme has said Israel has blocked access for aid deliveries -- which Israeli officials have denied -- and warned that if nothing changes, "a famine is imminent in northern Gaza".

As fighting continued in Gaza, Muhammad Yassin, 35, struggled to find flour in Zeitun.

"We have not eaten a loaf of bread for two months," he said. "Our children are starving."

In the south, nearly 1.5 million people trying to flee the fighting are now packed into Rafah city, also short of food, as Israel threatens to send in troops against Hamas fighters.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure to bring the remaining hostages home.

A group of 150 Israelis have started a four-day march from Reim, near the Gaza border, to Jerusalem, calling for the government to reach a deal.

Violence has also surged in the occupied West Bank, where two Israelis were killed on Thursday.