New shooting near Gaza aid site kills 27 people, health ministry says

Tuesday's shooting is the second reported incident in recent days.

LONDON -- At least 27 people were killed and more than 90 injured by Israeli forces as they waited to collect humanitarian aid at a distribution center in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

Many of the victims -- 24 deceased and 37 wounded -- arrived at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, according to Atef Al-Hout, the hospital's director-general, who said most of the casualties were from gunfire.

The Israel Defense Forces released a statement acknowledging a shooting around 500 meters from one of the aid sites run by the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

"Earlier today, during the movement of the crowd on the regulated routes on the way to the distribution complex, about half a kilometer from the complex, IDF forces identified a number of suspects moving towards them while deviating from the access routes," the statement read.

"The forces fired evasive shots, and after they did not move away, additional shots were fired near the individual suspects who were advancing towards the forces," it added.

"Reports of casualties are known, details of the incident are under investigation," the IDF said.

The IDF said that it allows GHF "to operate independently to distribute aid to Gaza residents and prevent it from reaching the Hamas terrorist organization."

"IDF forces do not prevent Gaza residents from reaching the aid distribution complexes," it added. "The shooting was carried out about half a kilometer from the distribution complex at individual suspects who approached the forces in a manner that endangered them."

The GHF released a statement on Tuesday morning saying "aid distribution was conducted safely and without incident at our site today."

However, the organization acknowledged that the IDF "is investigating whether a number of civilians were injured after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone."

"This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and operations area," GHF said. "We recognize the difficult nature of the situation and advise all civilians to remain in the safe corridor when traveling to our distribution sites."

GHF's aid distribution operation -- which the United Nations and other aid groups have so far refused to take part in, citing concerns that the GHF is not operating independently of Israeli forces -- has been beset by reports of violence.

On Sunday, Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health said dozens of people were shot dead and more than 200 wounded by Israeli fire around a kilometer from an aid distribution site in the south of the strip near the city of Rafah.

The IDF and GHF disputed the account given by the ministry. United Nations UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for an independent investigation into the incident.

A GHF spokesperson told ABC News on Monday, "There hasn't been what we would consider a major incident at our distribution sites or the surrounding facility and so far it is going relatively well."

"However, we are looking for ways to improve it so we can get more meals delivered," the spokesperson added. "We are encouraged by our operations in the first week and the fact that we were able to provide nearly six million meals in first full week."

ABC News' Morgan Winsor, Guy Davies, Diaa Ostaz and Jordana Miller contributed to this report.