Mughrabi and Olivia Le Poidevin CAIRO/GENEVA (Reuters) -Israeli fire killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, many of whom had been trying to get food, local officials said, while the United Nations' children's agency warned of a looming man-made drought in the enclave as its water systems collapse.

Israeli forces have killed 23 Palestinians after opening fire on crowds who had gathered near an aid distribution site, witnesses and medics say. Tanks and drones fired at thousands of people near an aid distribution centre in central Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF),

Palestinians say Israeli forces opened fire on people trying to access a U.S.-backed group's aid distribution hub in Gaza, in the deadliest of such incidents reported to date.