GAZA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- At least 38 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday across the Gaza Strip by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes, according to medical sources, as Israel's military reported the deaths of seven soldiers in combat in the south of the enclave.

Witnesses and local medics said Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians waiting near a U.S.-backed aid distribution point in the Netzarim corridor, in central Gaza. Al-Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies, some unidentified, and treated 53 wounded from what it called a "direct targeting" of civilians waiting for food assistance.

In a separate incident, one person was killed and six others wounded by Israeli gunfire in the Al-Shakoush area, north of Rafah in southern Gaza, medical sources said.

Gaza's civil defense said seven members of a single family, including women and children, were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a building at a gas station in al-Shuja'iyya, east of Gaza City. It reported further casualties in strikes on Deir al-Balah, the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, and Jabalia, with at least 15 dead and others missing.

Another strike west of Gaza City, near the Ansar Government Complex, killed five people, including a woman and a child, and wounded several others, according to the civil defense.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported incidents.

Separately, the Israeli army said seven soldiers were killed on Tuesday when an armored vehicle was hit by an explosive device during combat in southern Gaza.

Israel resumed its military campaign in the enclave on March 18. Since then, 5,759 Palestinians have been killed and 19,807 others wounded, according to Gaza's health authorities. The overall death toll since the war began in October 2023 has risen to 56,077, with 131,848 others injured, they said. ■