DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid in separate incidents in southern and central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 44, witnesses and hospitals said, as health authorities announced the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000.

Gazans caught up in violence seeking food, and the U.N. agency tasked with helping them, say a U.S.-backed aid effort is "costing more lives than it saves."

Dozens of Palestinians were killed near two humanitarian aid distribution centres in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local medics said.