Palestinians in central Gaza scrambled to collect aid packages dropped by parachute on Thursday, as Israel's plans to launch a new military operation in the strip advanced.

In the central area of Nuseirat, scores of people scuffled after a military cargo plane dropped dozens of containers of aid.

Gaza's population of nearly 2 million is desperate for food and medicine after almost two years of war between Israel and the Hamas militant group.

Israel resumed international air drops and partially eased the entry of aid trucks into the enclave in July in response to international outrage, after footage of children suffering from malnutrition surfaced.

In Nuseirat, young men and boys carrying backpacks and bags chased the descending container to its landing point between some tents and residential buildings.

The crowds pushed and shoved, scrabbling to get what they could from the container.

In a scene of desperation and chaos, some of the boys tripped over each other, as men brandishing wooden sticks sought to clear the crowds.

Gunshots could be heard from a distance, apparently to try to displace the crowds.

One man left with a can of peas and a carton of hummus.

Abdel Kareem Abdel Al, a Palestinian displaced from Gaza City, described the chase for the airdrops as “very humiliating.”

The situation has become so desperate, he says, that he cannot leave his tent without a knife to protect himself.

“Today people do not have money, they do not have money to build a tent,” said Abdel Al.

“I may be forced to hit a person, I may be forced to kill a person, or another person may kill me. This is not right.”

Alaa Saed stood by angrily as he watched the tumultuous crowd continue to scuffle beside him.

“Most of what they drop lands on people’s homes, it lands in densely populated areas, and shooting happens, and there are casualties and deaths,” he said.

"I hope that those who want to help us do so in a respectable way, and deliver it to every home in a respectable way."

International humanitarian organizations say the aid drops provide just a drop in the ocean of supplies that are needed.

They would rather see large convoys of trucks entering through border crossings, which they say is cheaper and more effective.