At least 112 people were killed and more than 280 wounded in the incident near Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said, as the death toll in nearly five months of war passed 30,000.

Medics said they could not cope with the volume and severity of the injuries.

Dozens were taken to al-Shifa hospital, which is only partially operational after Israeli raids.

The loss of civilian lives was the biggest in weeks.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it was an “ugly massacre conducted by the Israeli occupation army on people who waited for aid trucks at the Nabulsi roundabout”.

Israel disputed the account provided by health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, which has been bombarded by Israeli forces for months in a war that began after the Palestinian militant group’s deadly rampage in southern Israel on October 7.

An Israeli military official said two separate incidents had occurred as the convoy of trucks passed into northern Gaza from the south along the main coastal road.

In the first, he said aid trucks were surrounded by hundreds of people and, in the confusion, dozens were injured or killed, by being trampled or run over.

As the trucks left, he said, some of those who had rushed the convoy approached Israeli forces including a tank, which then opened fire.

“The soldiers fired warning shots in the air and then fired towards those who posed a threat and did not move away,” he told journalists.

“This is what we understand. We’re continuing to review the circumstances.”

He said he did not believe the death toll provided by the Palestinian authorities but provided no Israeli estimate, saying: “It was a limited response.”

Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesman for the Gaza health ministry, said the comments showed Israel “had pre-plotted intentions to carry out the new crime and massacre” and that the death toll could rise.

Hamas, which has run the Gaza strip since 2007, said the incident could jeopardise talks in Qatar aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages it is holding.

US President Joe Biden was asked if he thought the incident would complicate the talks, and said: “I know it will.”

Diplomats said the United Nations Security Council would meet behind closed doors to discuss developments in the Gaza Strip.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson said: “We mourn the loss of innocent life and recognise the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where innocent Palestinians are just trying to feed their families.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a congressional hearing that more than 25,000 women and children had been killed by Israel in Gaza since October 7, and that it could and should do more to protect civilians.

In a post on X, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said he was “appalled”, adding: “Even after close to five months of brutal hostilities, Gaza still has the ability to shock us.”

The Palestinian health authorities said 30,035 Palestinians were confirmed killed and more than 70,000 wounded in Israel’s offensive, launched after the October 7 attack in which Israel said Hamas gunmen killed 1200 people and abducted 253.

Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble and the majority of its 2.3 million population displaced from their homes at least once.

– AAP