Six people have died of starvation in Gaza and at least 40 others were killed in strikes and gunfire on Sunday, local health officials in the Palestinian territory say.
The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, according to Gaza's health ministry.
It said at least 27 of the 40 people killed by Israeli fire were trying to access aid distribution centres, and witnesses described facing gunfire as hungry crowds surged toward aid sites.
The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures.
Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to enclave health officials.
According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
The Israeli government argues that figures from Gaza's health ministry are Hamas propaganda and not trustworthy.
The Israeli government does not allow the ABC and other news organisations entry to Gaza to report freely.
Palestinian Red Crescent hit by strike
The deaths came as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said Israel hit its headquarters in the southern city of Khan Younis overnight, killing one staffer and injuring another three.
The organisation, which is responsible for health services such as paramedics in Gaza, said the compound had been hit three times by Israeli artillery fire in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Vision released by the PRCS showed the destruction inside, with windows blown out and walls and ceilings seriously damaged, and blood covering the floor in some places.
"Despite being clearly marked with the internationally recognised Red Crescent emblem, the building was deliberately targeted by Israeli forces," the PRCS said in a statement.
"This is a blatant breach of international humanitarian law, which strictly safeguards and protects medical facilities, Red Cross/Red Crescent personnel, and the Red Crescent emblem during armed conflicts
"PRCS holds the international community fully responsible for its continued silence in the face of ongoing violations targeting its personnel, facilities, and ambulances — despite the emblem's clear protection under law."
The organisation said 51 PRCS staff and volunteers had been killed during the war.
Global condemnation of hostage video
The ABC asked the Israeli military why it had targeted the site.
"The IDF is reviewing the claim that a building belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society was damaged, and that uninvolved individuals in the Khan Younis area were harmed as a result of an IDF strike," it replied in a statement.
"The incident remains under examination."
[TWEET: Red Cross]Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says he has called local Red Cross officials, demanding they step in to provide food and medical assistance to Israeli captives.
The request came days after Palestinian militant groups released videos of two Israeli hostages held in Gaza appearing emaciated.
Mr Netanyahu again denied there is a starvation crisis in Gaza, despite the overwhelming majority of humanitarian agencies stating the strip is in the throes of extreme hunger, and even world leaders such as Donald Trump saying it cannot be faked.
He said it was Israeli hostages, 50 of whom are still held by Hamas with 20 believed to be alive, being subjected to "systematic starvation".
The Israeli prime minister later said in a separate statement that Hamas "wants to break us through these horror videos, through the false horror propaganda that it spreads around the world".
"I am filled with an even stronger determination to free our kidnapped sons, to eliminate Hamas, to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to the State of Israel."
Leaders from the European Union, France and Germany were among those condemning the vision on Sunday.
In response to Mr Netanyahu's comments, the International Red Cross said the videos were "stark evidence of the life-threatening conditions in which the hostages are being held".
"As long as hostages remain in captivity, we stand ready to fulfil our role as a neutral humanitarian intermediary, and to facilitate the release of all the hostages at any stage," the organisation said in a post on X.
"We also reiterate our call to be granted access to the hostages, so we can assess their condition, give them medical support and facilitate contact with their families."
In a statement, Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeidasaid said: "The Al-Qassam Brigades do not intentionally starve the prisoners, but they eat what our Mujahideen and all our people eat".
"The Al-Qassam Brigades are prepared to deal positively and respond to any request from the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to enemy prisoners."
Palestinians turn to plastic waste for fuel
Egyptian state television reported two trucks were set to deliver desperately needed fuel to Gaza on Sunday, carrying more than 100 tonnes of diesel across the border.
Fuel shortages have been experienced across Gaza in recent months, severely impacting the operations of facilities such as hospitals, which rely on generators for power.
The PRCS had warned it could not run its full ambulance fleet due to the situation.
The scarcity of diesel had forced Palestinians to burn plastic waste to create alternative fuels.
"We bring the plastic, we break it, then we put it in the barrels, we cook it and then we bring it to refine it, and then it comes out refined," displaced Gaza resident Abdul Wahed Abu Saadeh told the ABC.
He said men were riding bicycles across the strip to gather plastic to burn to create the fuel.
But the process brought with it significant personal risk, with noxious fumes billowing from the barrels used in the process.
"It is very dangerous I have been burnt, the pipe exploded, and I was burnt — and I returned because this is the source of my livelihood," he said.
"My chest is aching and it is killing me."
The quality of the fuel was also questionable.
"This fuel ruins the motors in the long run, it ruins the cars," he said.
"Some say they make super [quality] but I challenge all the gas stations, it all causes damage."
ABC/wires
