Dozens said killed in Gaza; IDF admits it has killed several civilians near aid sites

Dozens of people were killed across the Gaza Strip on Monday, including at least 11 in the area of a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution center, according to local Palestinian media outlets, hours before the military admitted in a statement that it has killed several civilians near aid sites in recent weeks and said it has learned lessons that will avoid similar incidents in the future.

No footage of the reported shooting incident near the GHF site has yet been published, though videos claiming to show those wounded in the incident receiving treatment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis were posted to social media.

The IDF did not issue a response to reports of Monday’s incident and the GHF told The Times of Israel it was unaware of any shooting incidents near their sites.

There have been repeated instances of Palestinians being shot near aid distribution sites. The IDF said it is investigating, and denied that troops are ordered to open fire on civilians.

On Monday afternoon, the IDF released a statement acknowledging that Palestinian civilians have been killed and injured by its fire near aid distribution sites, including by artillery fire, but claimed that the tolls provided by Hamas authorities are exaggerated.

The military also announced that it “reorganized the access routes” to the humanitarian hubs, adding new fencing and signage along with additional paths to the aid sites.

The statement came days after the Haaretz daily reported that the military launched a probe last week into potential war crimes committed by its troops. It quoted unidentified soldiers as saying that the aid sites were like a “killing field” and that they were ordered to treat the aid seekers like combatants, using heavy live fire for crowd control.

The Haaretz report drew a first detailed response from the military regarding the near-daily deadly shootings around aid distribution sites, but the IDF vociferously denied that troops are being ordered by commanders to deliberately open fire on the Palestinian civilians.

According to the military, troops on the ground have only used live gunfire when a threat was posed to them, including when dozens of suspects approached forces outside of the designated routes to the aid sites operated by the Israel- and US-backed GHF, or outside the operating hours.

In those cases, the IDF said a small number of people were hit by its fire, and not dozens as Hamas has claimed.

However, the military said that at least in three “tragic” cases, artillery shelling was carried out toward areas near the aid sites, in an attempt to prevent Palestinians from approaching specific zones outside of the distribution centers.

The artillery fire in those cases was “inaccurate,” according to the IDF’s investigations, and resulted in 30-40 Palestinian casualties, among them several dead.

The military said those civilian casualties “did not need to happen” and it was the result of the inaccurate artillery, and not intended to directly target civilians at the aid sites.

The IDF added that it stopped carrying out shelling near the aid sites following the incidents, and according to a Monday report in Haaretz, an officer in the IDF southern command said that the artillery had been used to “maintain order” at the aid sites, and the military has now shifted to “other methods.”

אני מתחנן אליכם: תסתכלו על הסרטון הזה ממרכזי ״חלוקת הסיוע״ של צה״ל וארה״ב בעזה. כל האנשים כאן, שמנסים לחמוק מהכדורים, עומדים בתור לאוכל. מי שיורה עליהם הם החיילים שלנו. כן, היום נחשף סופית – בעדויות ישירות של חיילים בתחקיר הארץ – שצה״ל יורה יום יום על אנשים מורעבים בתור לאוכל >> pic.twitter.com/NBf0xwLYw6

— Alon-Lee Green – ألون-لي جرين – אלון-לי גרין ???? (@AlonLeeGreen) June 27, 2025

Each case of reported civilian casualties near the GHF sites has been investigated, the military said, adding that it is working to improve infrastructure, access routes, signage and announcements for the aid sites.

Currently, there is no screening process for Palestinians who seek to collect aid, meaning that Hamas members are likely also arriving and picking up food packages. In the coming weeks, the IDF hopes that a screening process may begin, along with the opening of additional aid sites.

Citing “the lessons that were learned,” the IDF also said the Tel Sultan aid site will temporarily be closed while a new distribution hub is built there, “in order to reduce the friction with the population and maintain the security of the forces on the ground.”

Last week, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said at least 549 people had been killed and 4,000 had been wounded trying to pick up aid from GHF sites or while waiting for UN food trucks since May 27, when GHF launched.

The numbers have not been verified, but between May 27 and June 24, there were at least 19 IDF shooting incidents related to humanitarian aid distribution, according to a review of reports out of Gaza conducted by The Times of Israel.

Later on Monday, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the government may expand the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza “in the near future, as part of a broader and larger plan.”

“Then we would be reducing the tension between the population and the soldiers, as well as other advantages which I will not go into right now,” the official added. “It’s a bigger plan, but it’s still under debate and not decided.”

The plan was set to be discussed in Monday night’s cabinet meeting, the official said.

North Gaza faces heavy strikes

Meanwhile, Palestinians in northern Gaza on Monday morning reported one of the heaviest nights of Israeli strikes in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders for wide swaths of territory in Gaza City and Jabalia, ahead of a major IDF offensive in the area.

“Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,” said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. “In the news, we hear a ceasefire is near; on the ground, we see death and we hear explosions.”

According to residents, Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of the Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft hit at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave.

At least 58 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, according to Hamas-run health authorities, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun. The figures cannot be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The IDF said it struck terror targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centers, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.

Later Monday, media outlets in Gaza reported that around 22 people were killed and others injured in an Israeli strike in western Gaza City, near the coast. According to the reports, the targeted structure was a beachfront café.

Footage from the scene showed a destroyed pavilion and casualties being pulled from the site.

The IDF has yet to issue a response on the strike or its target.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 50 hostages, including 49 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 56,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.