Palestinians in Khan Younis were sceptical on Tuesday (July 1) after the Israeli military acknowledged on Monday (June 30) that Palestinian civilians were harmed at aid distribution centres in the Gaza Strip, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions following what it called "lessons learned".

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited U.N. deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed while seeking handouts of aid.

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," the Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement said incidents in which Gaza civilians were harmed were under review.

It followed a Friday (June 27) report in the newspaper Haaretz that Israel's Military Advocate General had ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near the sites.

The spokesperson had no immediate comment on a Times of Israel report on Monday, citing the military, that artillery shelling intended to deter Palestinians from approaching certain zones near aid distribution centres had been inaccurate in at least three instances, resulting in 30-40 casualties, including several fatalities.

Israel has repeatedly said its forces operate near the centres in order to prevent the aid from falling into the hands of Palestinian Hamas militants.

A senior U.N. official said on Sunday (June 29) that the majority of people killed were trying to reach aid distribution sites of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of deliveries which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that the U.S.-backed aid operation in Gaza is “inherently unsafe,” adding: “It is killing people.”

Israel and the United States want the U.N. to work through the GHF, but the U.N. has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarising aid and forcing displacement.

Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said its military never targets civilians and accused the U.N. of “doing everything it can” to oppose the GHF aid operation.

A GHF spokesperson said on Friday there had been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites. Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the U.N.-led operations, which the Palestinian militants deny.

The Israeli military said on Monday it had taken actions to safeguard the aid distribution centres with fencing, directional and warning signs, and the addition of more access routes with barriers and checkpoints to regulate vehicle movement.

It said it had moved one distribution centre to reduce friction with the population and maintain the safety of troops on the ground.

The war erupted after Hamas-led militants in Gaza took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli tallies, in an October 7, 2023 attack, Israel's single deadliest day.

Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the coastal enclave.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (JULY 1, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF PALESTINIANS CARRYING AID SUPPLIES, SOME ARE WALKING WHILE OTHERS ARE ON CARTS PULLED BY DONKEYS OR ON BICYCLES / PICK UP TRUCK TRANSPORTING PEOPLE PASSING THROUGH

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MAN, AHMED ABU AWDEH, SAYING: (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES ON AWDEH SHOWING BANDAGES)

"We heard today that those who open fire on people coming to receive aid will be investigated. Who are you complaining to, when your father is the judge? Who are you complaining to, when your father is the judge? Meaning, it's all in vain. We are coming here for death - for death. Find a solution for us, any solution. Keep us at home and send us messages, and we will come and collect the coupon (aid). Some people receive aid, and others don't. I go out, here, carrying bandages for those who die and get injured. Here, here is the blood of the injured here. I swear to God, I carry the wounded and wrap their wounds. Sometimes, I don’t even have time to get food for myself. I carry bandages and sit there treating the injured."

3. PALESTINIANS PASSING THROUGH, WITH SOME CARRYING AID SUPPLIES

4. FOOD ITEMS ON THE GROUND

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MAN, KHALED SHAAT, SAYING:

"The Israeli occupation claims that there are, or there will be investigations into the crimes committed against civilians in the aid (distribution) areas, but the Israeli occupation always lies and always claims that investigations will be opened into these crimes."

6. STREET SCENE / PEOPLE WALKING

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MAN, KHALED SHAAT, SAYING:

"Palestinians know that these areas are very dangerous and they will either be wounded or martyred, but the Palestinian citizen insists on bringing some belongings or some food to feed his children and also feed himself. The economic situation, or the situation in the Gaza Strip, has become very dangerous."

8. PALESTINIANS PASSING THROUGH, WITH SOME CARRYING AID SUPPLIES

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN WHOSE SON WAS KILLED AT AN AID DISTRIBUTION POINT, ZIAD AL-AMOUDI, SAYING:

"We heard that the Israeli army will open an investigation into the killing of people who were killed in (seeking) aid. This is a result of the international pressure on Israel because it claimed that these are safe areas, only for providing aid, while it became clear on the ground, it is deliberately killing citizens. Today, to get away from international pressure, it called for opening an investigation. This is a lie and slander. The Israeli army can't justify or prosecute its soldiers on charges of killing citizens."

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (JUNE 30, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

10. VARIOUS OF INJURED PALESTINIAN BEING TREATED AT HOSPITAL

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (JULY 1, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MEDIC, SAMIR ABU MASHEYEKH, SAYING:

"Aid is provided to help people in the midst of the war, in the midst of the existing famine, in the midst of the lack of salaries, in the midst of even the obsolete floods. Unfortunately, this aid has become a curse on the Palestinian people and is not assistance to the people. I hope that any donor agency, such as the American state that provided aid, will find a better mechanism than that, such as international institutions, to provide aid to the people with respect and without humiliation. Because this is humiliation aid stained with the blood of the Palestinian people."

12. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE, AMBULANCE OUTSIDE HOSPITAL