Israel kills Hamas’s presumed leader

Israel yesterday said its military killed Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas's presumed Gaza leader as military offensive in the tiny Palestinian territory killed dozens more.

"We drove the terrorists out of our territory, entered the Gaza Strip with force, eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, eliminated... Mohammed Sinwar," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament.

Israeli media outlets reported Sinwar was targeted in Israeli air strikes in southern Gaza earlier this month.

The announcement came as the United Nations condemned a US- and Israeli-backed aid system in Gaza after dozens of people were hurt in chaotic scenes at a food distribution site.

Israel's military denied allegations that its forces had fired on the crowds.

The aid issue has come sharply into focus amid a hunger crisis coupled with intense criticism of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a shadowy group that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system in the territory.

The United Nations said 47 people were injured in the mayhem that erupted on Tuesday when thousands of desperate Palestinians rushed into a GHF aid distribution site. A Palestinian medical source reported at least one death.

Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territories, said most had been hurt by Israeli gunfire.

The military rejected this, with spokesman Colonel Olivier Rafowicz saying Israeli soldiers "fired warning shots into the air, in the area outside" the Rafah distribution centre, and "in no case towards the people".

GHF also denied that crowds were shot while waiting for aid.

Meanwhile, UN envoy for the Middle East Sigrid Kaag told the Security Council that Palestinians living in Gaza "deserve more than survival".

"Since the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, the already horrific existence of civilians has only sunk further into the abyss," she said.

"This is manmade ... Death is their companion. It's not life, it's not hope. The people of Gaza deserve more than survival. They deserve a future."

Gazans said there was no reason to hope for a better future.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed 16 people since dawn yesterday.

Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza for more than two months, before allowing supplies in at a trickle last week.

Israel stepped up its military offensive in Gaza earlier this month, while mediators push for a still elusive ceasefire.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza yesterday said at least 3,924 people had been killed in the territory since Israel ended a ceasefire on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,084, mostly civilians.