Kamel Abu Nahel, who was being treated for a gunshot wound at Shifa Hospital, said he and others went to the distribution point in the middle of the night because they heard there would be a delivery of food. “We’ve been eating animal feed for two months,” he added.

He said Israeli troops opened fire on the crowd, causing it to scatter, with some people hiding under cars.

After the shooting stopped, they went back to the trucks and the soldiers opened fire again. He was shot in the leg and fell over and then a truck ran over his leg as it sped off, he said.

Medics arriving at the scene on Thursday found “dozens or hundreds” lying on the ground, according to Fares Afana, the head of the ambulance service at Kamal Adwan Hospital.