International aid organisations have again condemned the new aid distribution model being enforced in Gaza, labelling it a "death trap" after more than 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured during gunfire at a site on Sunday morning.
Field hospitals were overwhelmed by the dead and injured following the incident at the distribution site near Rafah, in the strip's south, where thousands of desperate Palestinians had converged to grab supplies for their families.
Hamas accused Israeli forces of opening fire, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the US-Israeli backed organisation that is running the distribution sites, have rejected those allegations.
The IDF in turn accused Hamas of sending gunmen to an aid site, releasing drone footage it said showed armed fighters taking aim at civilians in southern Khan Younis.
The ABC has not been able to independently verify the footage.
Ikram Nasser, 37, was among the Palestinians who went to the site, arriving on Saturday night to ensure her family was among the first in line when the gates opened.
She said Israeli drones were flying over the area announcing the site would open at 6am on Sunday, telling Palestinians they needed to wait and "be disciplined".
"We stayed hidden all night because, if a plane or tank spotted you, they would open fire," Ms Nasser told the ABC.
"When the drone told us to enter, we entered.
"We had not even walked 200 metres. As soon as we were 200 metres away, soldiers surrounded us and they started firing at us — from this side, the other, all around.
"People were like sheep."
Ms Nasser said she was still searching for two of her brothers, who were missing amid the carnage, and accused authorities of refusing to let ambulances into the site to treat the injured and gather the dead.
"We brought a garbage trolley, and we put three or four on top of each other and … [took] them to the ambulance outside," she said.
"I feel I am born again today. I will never ever go to these distributions again. I'd rather starve to death.
"I have no flour, no sugar, I have no food, nothing, no formula for my son — yet I will not go anymore."
Israel accuses Hamas of disrupting aid
In a statement, the military said an initial review of the situation found "the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false".
IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Hamas of trying to undermine efforts to distribute aid.
"Hamas is doing his best, his utmost to stop us from doing so," he said in a video statement.
"He's spreading rumours, fake news, he's trying bluntly and violently to stop the people of Gaza from reaching those distribution centres.
"I urge you not to believe every rumour spread by Hamas."
The IDF later released footage from an Israeli drone that it said showed armed gunmen on the ground, not in military uniforms, opening fire on the civilians.
It accused Hamas of trying to disrupt the operations and fuelling chaos among the population.
GHF released footage from security cameras at the site that it insisted backed up that position.
The videos, which do not have time stamps and are mute, show thousands of people streaming into the facility near Rafah.
They do not appear to show gunfire or injuries, but do tell a story of immense desperation from a population starving.
Aid system a 'death trap'
Many of the dead and injured were taken to field hospitals in southern Gaza, rather than to established facilities further north of the Rafah site.
Marwan Al-Hams, director of Gaza's field hospitals, said 31 people were killed and at least 179 were injured.
"The shots were aimed at the upper body; head, neck, and chest," he told the ABC.
"It seems IDF is sending a clear message to the hungry: We will kill you from the sky with planes and missiles, or on the ground through starvation and attacks near aid distribution centres."
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its field hospital in Rafah took the bulk of the patients, and that it was the "highest number of weapon-wounded in a single incident since the establishment of the field hospital over a year ago".
"It far surpassed the capacity of the hospital," the ICRC said in a statement.
"The reality on the ground in Gaza is that for months now, civilians have had to navigate the areas affected by intense hostilities to find food and safe water for their families.
"The high number of dead and injured patients received in a short amount of time is indicative of the increasing danger to civilians who have already struggled to survive for almost 20 months of unimaginable hostilities."
The head of the United Nations' Palestinian aid agency UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini said the Israeli-American-backed aid distribution model was a "death trap".
"This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that's all but pulverised due to heavy bombardment by the Israeli army," he said.
"Aid deliveries and distribution must be at scale and safe.
"In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA."
Mr Lazzarini added there were "competing narratives" and "disinformation campaigns" at play.
"International media must be allowed into Gaza to independently report on the ongoing atrocities including this morning's heinous crime," he said.
Israel refuses to allow international media into Gaza, and has only facilitated access under choreographed IDF supervision during the war.
No international crews have entered Gaza since the January ceasefire was enforced. The Foreign Press Association is challenging the ban.
