On the 1st of June 2025, at least three individuals were reportedly killed and another injured in an alleged Israeli strike on an aid distribution area on Salah Al-Din Road, near Mortaja Junction in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

@ShehabAgency published an “urgent” report on X/Twitter stating that one person who had been killed and one injured person had arrived at Nasser Hospital after they were attacked by Israeli forces while waiting for aid near Mortaja.

Reports and testimonies quickly spread across social media. Mohamed Awad, writing on Facebook, identified two of the victims as 35-year-old Hassan Muhammad Ahmad Abu Sitta (Abu al-Laith) and 33-year-old Muhammad Amin Abd Rabbuh Kassab. The Shehab agency later identified a third victim as 36 or 37-year-old Hussam Bassam Wafi – who died of his wounds the next day on June 2nd. The majority of reports claimed that the victims died from wounds sustained in a drone strike.

Testimonies were widely circulated on social media. Journalist Muthana Najjar included images of the heartbroken mother and children of Hussam Bassam Wafi, who reportedly “went to get flour and returned wrapped in a shroud” and had gone out “searching for a bag of flour” to feed his six children. The post continued, stating that “he went out amidst death and destruction, and returned carried on shoulders, a martyr.” Accompanying this heartfelt testimony was a picture of Hussam, with short dark hair, wearing a keffiyeh and a black jacket, holding a yellow scarf and smiling at the camera.

Further tributes were posted for the victims. One Facebook post by Mahmoud Ismail, tagged with ‎Hassan Abu Sitta Abu Ahmad‎ and two others, included a picture of his “dear friend and neighbour” Hassan Muhammad Abu Sitta standing with friends, wearing beige cargo trousers and a black-and-white jacket, with a black beard. Mahmoud Ismail, tagged again with ‎Hassan Abu Sitta Abu Ahmad‎ and seven others, continued to share photos and express his grief. One image showed Hassan posing in front of a flower field, wearing an all-white outfit. Another showed him in sunglasses, a grey jumper, and a backpack.

Additional testimonies featured more images of Hassan. Facebook user Abdul Mousa shared a picture of his “childhood friend, brother, and neighbour,” wearing a black jacket and charcoal grey hoodie, looking into the camera. Another user, Hamad’s Thinking, posted a tribute to her sister’s husband Hassan. One photo showed him in a grey shirt holding a young child; the other pictured him in a one-piece hoodie, looking directly into the camera.

A Facebook post by Ahmed S. Kazaer alleged that two of the individuals were affiliated with Hamas, had weapons with them, and had been collecting money in exchange for selling flour, adding that the two men were “bombed” inside a jeep at the Tahlia roundabout. However, this claim was not repeated by any other local sources. Airwars conducted out an extra round of research on the two men to review this claim and was unable to find supporting evidence. Additionally, the nature of the post in which Ahmed made the claim about Hassan and Muhammad does not seem to indicate that Ahmed knew the two men. As such, Airwars has recorded both Hassan and Muhammad as civilians. This will be updated should additional information become available.

Where possible, names have been matched with the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) lists, which include national ID numbers. Airwars is matching individuals to the first list where their name appeared. In regard to this incident, names are matched to the ninth ‘Palestinian Ministry of Health List of Fatalities in Gaza’ list, which was released on June 23, 2025.

Where sources identified a belligerent, all attributed the strike to Israeli forces.