Dozens injured by Israeli gunfire as crowds overwhelmed Gaza aid site, UN says

The UN Human Rights Office has said it believes 47 people were injured in Gaza on Tuesday when crowds overwhelmed an aid distribution centre run by a controversial new group backed by the US and Israel.

A senior official said the UN was still gathering information but that most of the injuries were due to gunshots and that "it was shooting from the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]".

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said one person was killed and 48 others were wounded.

The IDF said it was checking the reports. A spokesman said troops fired "warning shots" into the air in the area outside the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's site in the southern city of Rafah but that they did not fire towards people.

The GHF's aid distribution system uses US security contractors and bypasses the UN, which has rejected it as unethical and unworkable.

The US and Israeli governments have said it is preventing aid from being stolen by Hamas, which the armed group denies doing.

UN agencies have warned that Gaza's 2.1 million population is facing catastrophic levels of hunger after an almost three-month Israeli blockade that was eased last week.