At least 30 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike that hit a popular seafront café in western Gaza on Monday.
Rescue teams evacuated the bodies of the victims and dozens wounded from Al-Baqa Cafeteria, an outdoor venue which consisted of tents along the beach, said a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence, reports BBC. He added that emergency crews were still searching through a deep crater left by the explosion.
“I was on my way to the café to use the internet just a few meters away when a massive explosion hit,” said Aziz Al-Afifi, said a cameraman with a local production company. “I ran to the scene. My colleagues were there, people I meet every day. The scene was horrific – bodies, blood, screaming everywhere.”
Videos posted by residents on social media appeared to show the moment a missile, reportedly fired from an Israeli warplane, struck the area. Footage captured the aftermath of the attack, with bodies scattered across the ground.
Al-Baqa Cafeteria had become a well-known space for journalists, activists, and remote workers, offering internet access, seating, and workspace along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
The attack came after Israel carried out a wave of air strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight, triggering the mass displacement of hundreds of Palestinian families.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies of five people, while dozens of injured civilians were evacuated to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, according to local reports. Residents in Gaza City said dozens of Israeli air raids targeted densely populated eastern neighbourhoods, including Shujaiya, Tuffah, and Zeitoun.
Videos posted on social media captured scenes of chaos and explosions illuminating the night sky, followed by flames and thick plumes of smoke rising above the skyline. One of the strikes reportedly hit a school in Zeitoun that had been sheltering displaced families.
The five fatalities reportedly occurred in a strike at the Al Shati camp, to the west of Gaza City.
The bombardment follows one of the largest evacuation orders issued since the Trump-administered ceasefire ended in March. It comes amid increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refocus efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had earlier ordered residents to leave large parts of northern Gaza, in anticipation of the attacks. Most of those displaced overnight moved westwards within Gaza City rather than to the southern region as instructed by the IDF.
“We had no choice but to leave everything behind,” said Abeer Talba, a mother of seven who fled Zeitoun with her family. “We got phone calls recordings in Arabic telling us we were in a combat zone and must evacuate immediately.
“This is the seventh time we’ve been forced to flee,” she added. “We’re in the streets again, no food, no water. My children are starving. Death feels kinder than this.”
Amid the growing humanitarian crisis, fears are mounting that the evacuation orders and sustained air strikes are part of a broader Israeli plan to expand its ground offensive deeper into Gaza.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump said on social media that Netanyahu was working on negotiating a deal with Hamas “right now”. That came days after a senior Hamas official said mediators had intensified their efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, but that negotiations with Israel remain stalled.
More than 56,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to their health ministry.