At least 27 people were killed and 90 others injured in southern Gaza on Tuesday when Israeli troops opened fire near a US-backed aid distribution centre. The Israeli military said the incident was under investigation.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the deaths of Palestinians seeking food assistance as “unacceptable”, while the UN human rights chief described attacks on civilians as “a war crime”. The shooting took place approximately one kilometre (just over half a mile) from a site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has coordinated with Israel under a new aid distribution mechanism. A similar incident occurred at the same location on Sunday.

GHF announced on Tuesday that all its distribution centres would be closed on Wednesday for “update, organisation, and efficiency improvement work”. Operations are expected to resume on Thursday. The group said it would consult the Israeli military about bolstering security beyond the immediate vicinity of its facilities.

Since dawn on Tuesday, at least 42 Palestinians have been killed, including those shot near the aid site. The Israeli military accused Hamas of interfering with aid deliveries and opening fire at distribution points.

Since the GHF centres began operations on 27 May, at least 102 Palestinians have been killed at or near their locations.

Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the recent deaths and injuries, stating on Monday that he was “appalled by reports of Palestinians killed and injured whilst seeking aid”. Humanitarian group Save the Children denounced Israel’s militarised aid delivery strategy in Gaza, calling the killings a “blatant and shocking disregard of international humanitarian law”.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Israeli military issued forced evacuation orders for several neighbourhoods in Khan Younis, signalling an expansion of its operations in the south.

Al Jazeera.