Gaza’s Civil Defense announced that 56 people, including six seeking humanitarian aid, were killed by Israeli gunfire Thursday.

Seventeen people were killed following an Israeli strike on a group of civilians near the Al-Baraka junction in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

According to Bassal, these new casualties bring the total number of deaths since dawn to 56, including six people who were waiting for humanitarian aid distribution.

Reporting from AFP