Gaza: At least 20 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured late Tuesday night when a truck carrying food aid overturned in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian medical sources.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the accident occurred as crowds of residents attempted to reach an aid truck traveling on an unpaved road, causing it to overturn amidst crowds of civilians. The sources stated that most of the victims were residents of the affected areas who suffer from severe food insecurity and were killed while waiting to receive aid from the trucks.

The Gaza Strip has witnessed a series of similar incidents in recent months, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of people while trying to obtain food, amid what humanitarian organizations describe as “catastrophic and unprecedented” conditions. More than two million people in Gaza are facing the threat of starvation, according to UN estimates, due to the ongoing Israeli blockade since the start of the war last October, and the closure of most crossings for months, with the exception of limited and temporary openings that fail to meet the growing humanitarian needs.

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said earlier Tuesday that hunger has become the new killer in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the time has come to deliver aid freely and without hindrance. “It is time to deliver aid, unhindered, and with dignity,” Lazzarini said in a post on the X platform, emphasizing the need to allow the United Nations and its partners to do their work.