Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip), 26 July. (LaPresse/AP) – At least 42 people have died in Gaza in the last 24 hours as a result of Israeli air strikes and gunfire, according to Palestinian health officials and the local ambulance service. At least a dozen people were killed by Israeli army gunfire targeting Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid trucks near the Zikim crossing with Israel in the north, said staff at Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were taken. The Israeli army said it fired warning shots to disperse the crowd ‘in response to an immediate threat’ and was not aware of any casualties. A witness, Sherif Abu Aisha, said people started running when they saw a light they thought was coming from the aid trucks, but as they got closer, they realised it was Israeli tanks. That was when the army started shooting, he told the Associated Press, adding that his uncle was among the casualties. ‘We went because there was no food… and nothing was being distributed,’ he said.