Gaza's civil defence agency said 14 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military on Wednesday, even as renewed aid deliveries gathered pace.
The territory has been in the grip of war for almost 22 months and now, according to a UN-mandated report, the two-million-strong population is facing an unfolding famine.
On Wednesday, Gaza's civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP that six people had been killed by Israeli fire near an aid distribution centre northwest of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
Two more people were killed and several injured by Israeli fire while waiting for aid near the Netzarim junction, south of Gaza City -- and two more in an airstrike near the city's Church of the Holy Family.
Four more had been killed while waiting for aid near the Wadi Gaza bridge in the centre of the territory, he added. The Israeli military told AFP it would examine the reports.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas into Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Of the 251 Israelis abducted that day, 49 remain hostages or unrecovered casualties in Gaza, including 27 who have been declared dead by the army.
In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed at least 60,034 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data from the the Hamas-run government's health ministry.
Since the weekend, under pressure from mounting international concern over the hunger crisis in Gaza, Israel announced a daily pause in fighting in the main built-up areas and secured routes.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Defence Ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, stated that more than 200 truckloads of food aid had been collected and distributed by the UN and humanitarian agencies within Gaza.
Some 52 pallets of aid were airdropped by military planes from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Both Israeli and Palestinian officials complained that much of the aid was stolen by armed looters. Still, while Israel blamed Hamas for the seizures, the Hamas-run government blamed a breakdown in security caused by the military operation.