At least 45 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for U.N. and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and a local hospital.

It did not appear to be related to a new Israeli- and U.S.-supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month and has been marred by controversy and violence.

Israeli tank shellfire killed at least 51 Palestinians as they awaited aid in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, the territory's health ministry said.