GENEVA (Reuters) -World Health Organization officials said that it had received reports of a mass casualty incident on Tuesday that affected people waiting for food supplies, saying that initial reports point to at least 20 fatalities.

At least 50 Palestinians were martyred and hundreds were injured, many critically, on Tuesday morning after Israeli forces opened fire on crowds waiting for humanitarian aid

Security experts suggest private contractors could break Hamas' control over Gaza by managing aid distribution and training local Palestinian security forces.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Tuesday morning the death of Staff Sergeant Naveh Leshem, 20, of Nokdim, during combat operations in the southern Gaza Strip. Leshem served in the 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade. His death brings the total number of Israeli military casualties since the start of the war to 869.

Witnesses say Israeli troops opened fire as crowds tried to reach Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution centers in Gaza.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also spoke with Netanyahu. “Israel has the right to defend its existence and the security of its citizens,” he said Sunday in a social media post. “Iran’s nuclear weapons program is an existential threat to the State of Israel.”