The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing aid despite criticism from the UN and aid groups that have long been operating in Gaza.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution site on Sunday, with both the group in charge of the site and the military denying any such incident took place.

The embattled Israeli-backed aid group that began operating in Gaza earlier this week is not screening Palestinians at aid distribution sites, despite Israeli officials saying that additional security measures were a core reason for the creation of the new program.

A U.S.- and Israeli-backed private organization is overhauling the aid distribution system in Gaza. The United Nations says it undermines humanitarian principles.

The United Nations says food being distributed by a new Israeli-backed system is “less than a drop in the ocean.”

The situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began 19-months ago, the United Nations said on Friday, despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave where famine looms.

The United Nations, the global symbol of multilateral cooperation and humanitarian action, is facing an unprecedented financial reckoning.