A café by the sea in Gaza known for its public internet connection visited by journalists, media employees, activists and students has been the target of the latest fatal attack of the Israeli army.
Warning: This story contains images and details that some readers can disturb.
The civilian defense agency of Gaza said that at least 30 people and women, children and several journalists were killed and dozens were injured in an Israeli strike on Al-Baqa Cafe.
One of the few companies that continue to work during the war, the café was a popular meeting place for those who were looking for internet access, telephone chargers and a place to work.
Ismail Abu Hatab was a freelance photojournalist. ((Instagram: Inmilabuhatab))
“The place is always full of people because [it] Offers drinks, family chairs and internet access: “Eyewitnesses Ahmed Al-Nayrab told AFP and remembered a” huge explosion that shook the area “.
“I saw body parts fly everywhere, and bodies cut and burn … It was a scene that made your skin crawl.”
Among the dead was the 32-year-old Palestinian photojournalist and film director Ismail Abu Hatab.
Ismail Abu Hatab was known for compiling photo translations about the horrors of life in Gaza, including the compelling photography exhibition between the Sky and the Sea, which was recently shown in Los Angeles.
He was previously injured in an Israeli air raid while working at the Al-Ghafari tower in November 2023, he said in a Interview last year to the NDTV world.
The well -known Palestinian journalist Bayan Abu Sultan was also one of the dozens of injured in the cafe, confirmed several media.
Bayan Abu Sultan survived the attack but was injured. ((AFP: Majdi Fathi))
According to the UN Human Rights OfficeHe condemned what the Israeli army pattern of murders called on journalists in Gaza.
Israeli military attacks reportedly killed 18 journalists in May 2025, added it to a statement.
“Gaza remains the deadliest place in the world to be a journalist.“
The Palestinian journalistic syndicate confirmed that more than 220 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the war.
Monday’s strike came in the midst of the last offensive of the 20-month war, which started when Hamas militants entered Israel on October 7, 2023, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and another 251 hostage.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the subsequent military attack by Israel killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them.
‘Killed because he is trying to have internet access’
Since the war started, the Gaza Strip has experienced at least 10 partial and complete communication and internet failures, which limits the flow of information to and from Gaza and prevents journalists from reporting.
Between 10 and 21 June, the Gaza Strip experienced a full internet failure and widespread mobile phone interruptions, which described the Palestinian telecommunications -regulating authority as “systematically sets up”.
Palestinian journalist Bayan Abu Sultan is known on social media and was injured in the attack. ((Leveld: Instagram/Bayanpalestine))
The committee to protect journalists (CPJ) and reporters without borders (also known as reporters without Frontières or RSF) both claim that Israel is directly aimed at journalists in Gaza, something that Israel denies.
“Israeli troops have done everything in their power to prevent the coverage of what is happening in Gaza, and have systematically aimed at journalists who have taken enormous risks to do their work,” said RSF campaign director Rebecca Vincent.
Palestinian journalist Gathi Sabbah, 65, last month told the magazine That some public internet access points or cafés had become goals for Israeli drones.
“You may be killed because you are trying to have internet access there,”
he said.
“Even going to a cafe brings a real risk for our lives,” he told Palestinian journalist Hana Salah in the magazine.
“Many people have only lost their lives by being there, even though they were citizens.”
Gaza’s Government Media Office said that “in the strongest terms the systematic focus, murder and murder of Palestinian journalists” condemned by Israeli troops.
In May the Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna Killed in an Israeli air strike only one day after she found out A documentary about her life in Gaza was premiered in Cannes.
Approached for comment by AFP, the Israeli army said it was the reports of the attack in Al-Baqa Cafe “to the reports of the attack in Al-Baqa Cafe.
ABC/wires
#dead #Israeli #strike #Gaza #Cafe #popular #journalists