Israeli troops have admitted to deliberately shooting and killing unarmed Palestinians waiting for aid in the Gaza Strip, following direct orders from their superiors, MEE reported.

According to soldiers and officers who spoke to Haaretz, commanders instructed them to open fire on people seeking food at aid distribution points despite knowing they posed no threat.

One soldier described the distribution centres as a "killing field".

"Where I was stationed, between one and five people were killed every day," the soldier told Haaretz.

"They're treated like a hostile force, no crowd-control measures, no tear gas. Just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars." 

Israel blocked all aid and goods from entering the Gaza Strip for nearly three months beginning in March, pushing the two million residents of the besieged enclave into a severe hunger crisis.