Mughrabi and Olivia Le Poidevin CAIRO/GENEVA (Reuters) -Israeli fire killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, many who were seeking food aid, local officials said, while the United Nations' children's agency said the scarcity of drinking water was at a crisis point.

At least 51 people were killed and more than 200 others injured by Israeli fire as they waited for aid trucks to arrive in Khan Younis in southern Gaza early Tuesday morning, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

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.