GAZA, MARCH 1

More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 70,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip since the Israel's war on Hamas began nearly five months ago, health officials in the territory said.

On Thursday, Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd of people scrambling for aid in Gaza City. More than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded, according to Palestinian witnesses and Gaza's Health Ministry.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic stampede for the food aid and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

Israel's war against Hamas has created a humanitarian catastrophe throughout the Gaza Strip and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering.

The UN says a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation; around 80% have fled their homes.

The war began after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage.