The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) will not give out any aid on Wednesday as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites, a day after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed.

The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to "guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks" near military perimeters; develop clearer guidance for civilians; and enhance training to support civilian safety.

Hospital officials have said more than 80 people were shot dead and hundreds wounded near distribution points in a three-day period from Sunday, including at least 27 killed on Tuesday.

Locals say Israeli soldiers opened fire on the crowds, who gather before dawn to seek food. The military has denied this, but acknowledged on Tuesday that soldiers had fired at "suspects" who had ignored warning shots and were approaching their lines.

"Our top priority remains ensuring the safety and dignity of civilians receiving aid," said a GHF spokesperson. An Israeli military spokesperson warned civilians against moving in areas leading to GHF sites on Wednesday, deeming them "combat zones."

WATCH | GHF halts aid distribution on Wednesday: 

Gaza aid distribution shut down after days of deadly shootings

The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will not give out any aid on Wednesday as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites. The UN Security Council is set to vote on a ceasefire demand, but the U.S. is expected to veto it.

The new aid distribution process for Gaza's two million-plus population from just three sites was launched in the midst of a fierce new offensive by Israel since late last month. The UN and other aid groups say the model, which uses private U.S. security and logistics workers, militarizes aid.

Violence continued to pummel the enclave.

The Gaza health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed at least 95 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, including women and children at a school housing displaced families that was hit near the southern city of Khan Younis.

Israel announced that one of its soldiers had died in the fighting after three deaths reported a day earlier, as its forces continued their months-long battle to eliminate Hamas militants and free the remaining hostages still held in Gaza.

Palestinians who collected food GHF boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs, as crowds jostled for aid.

'This is not aid,' Palestinian says after operations paused

Yasser Abu Jarad, a father of five, says he has made the 40-kilometre journey from Gaza City to Rafah by foot five times since the aid distribution centre opened last week, in hopes of getting food for his family.

"Every time I got to the aid, I found empty boxes," he told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife on Wednesday in Gaza City.

"I went home yesterday full of blood. I couldn't get aid, I ended up carrying [injured] people out."

Islam Qahman, 20, said he went to an aid distribution once in the past week and was able to get flour, but on his way back he faced Israeli fire and lost the flour as a result.

"If [the GHF aid system] closes it would be better, because [if this keeps going] we [will] lose blood every day," Qahman told CBC News from Gaza City. "Every day bloodshed, every day blood, every day massacre. This is not aid, this is a collective death they are doing to us."

The UN Security Council is set to vote Wednesday on a demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and humanitarian access across Gaza, where malnutrition is widespread and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade in late May.

"It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking — and in several instances losing — their lives just trying to get food," UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday, adding that the aid distribution model backed by the U.S. and Israel was "all a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what is going on."

The newly created GHF said on Tuesday that it has given out more than seven million meals since it started operations a week ago. GHF interim executive director John Acree urged humanitarians in Gaza: "Work with us and we will get your aid delivered to those who are depending on it."

'Time to act has already passed,' UN ambassador says

Experts say Gaza's entire population of some 2.1 million people is at risk of famine despite successive efforts to boost aid. Jordan last year spearheaded humanitarian air drops, while the U.S. briefly installed a floating aid pier, but it was beset by challenges.

The UN has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

The 10 elected members of the UN Security Council have asked for the 15-member body to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution that demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties."

WATCH | More than two dozen Palestinians killed by Israeli forces near aid site: 

Palestinians killed after Israeli forces open fire near aid distribution centre

WARNING: Video contains graphic images | At least 25 Palestinians were killed near a food distribution centre in Gaza when Israeli forces opened fire, saying the intended targets were ‘suspects.’

The draft text, seen by Reuters, also demands the release of all hostages held by Hamas and others, and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid and its safe and unhindered distribution, including by the UN, throughout Gaza.

"The time to act has already passed," Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told Reuters. "It is our historical responsibility not to remain silent."

As U.S. President Donald Trump's administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, it was not immediately clear if Washington would veto the draft text. A spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the UN said: "We cannot preview our actions currently under consideration."

A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain or France — to pass.

The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. They do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants but say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble.