Israel, Gaza war: Israeli military acknowledges civilians harmed at aid sites in the Gaza Strip

The Israeli military has acknowledged that Palestinian civilians were harmed at aid distribution centres in the Gaza Strip, saying that instructions have been issued to forces following “lessons learned”.

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on the enclave on May 19, allowing limited United Nations deliveries to resume, the UN 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 said in a statement.

It said incidents in which Gaza Strip civilians were harmed were under review.

A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of people killed were trying to reach aid distribution sites of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

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

But many Gazans say they have to walk for hours to reach the sites, meaning they must start travelling well before dawn if they are to stand any chance of receiving food.

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

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

“Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarised zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people,” Mr Guterres told reporters.

Responding to Mr Guterres on Friday, Israel’s foreign ministry said its military never targets civilians and accused the UN of “doing everything it can” to oppose the GHF aid operation.

“In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF’s humanitarian operations,” it posted on X.

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 UN-led operations, which the Palestinian militants deny.

The war erupted after Hamas-led militants in the Gaza Strip took 251 hostages and killed 1200 people, most of them civilians, 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 the Gaza Strip, and flattened much of the coastal enclave.