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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
• | |
4 min read | |
Israeli strike on waterfront cafe in Gaza City kills dozens, hospital | |
official says | |
By Kareem Khadder and Lauren Kent, CNN | |
Updated: | |
10:43 AM EDT, Tue July 1, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
More than 40 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a | |
cafe near the port in Gaza City, according to the head of the | |
territory’s largest hospital. | |
Dr. Mohammad Abu Silmiya, the director of Al-Shifa hospital, said in an | |
update on Monday night that at least 41 people had been killed and 75 | |
injured in the strike. | |
Videos geolocated by CNN show thick smoke rising from the scene as well | |
as widespread damage to the cafe and the surrounding area. They also | |
showed bodies being removed on stretchers. | |
The Israel Defense Forces told CNN that the incident is “under | |
review.” In response to questions about the strike, the IDF said, | |
“Earlier today (Monday), the IDF struck several Hamas terrorists in | |
the northern Gaza Strip. Prior to the strike, steps were taken to | |
mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance.” | |
The Al-Baqa cafe was a well-known spot for students, journalists and | |
remote workers, as it offered internet and a place to work by the | |
Mediterranean coast. | |
One of those killed was 17-year-old Sama Abu Namous, who was in the | |
cafe to study. Schools have been suspended in Gaza for almost two | |
years, but she was preparing for a possible return of secondary level | |
exams, her family said. | |
“She was studying for her high school exam, and was heading home | |
after. We suddenly find out she’s killed… Children are dying | |
everyday. What are we negotiating over? The blood of our children?” | |
said the teenager’s aunt. | |
Silmiya told CNN that “most of the casualties are women and | |
children,” including many students who were at the cafe for internet | |
access. | |
Said Ahel, the cafe’s general manager, told CNN the airstrike killed | |
11 employees and injured five other staff members. At the time of the | |
impact, there was a birthday party ongoing at the venue, he said. | |
The establishment was founded 20 years ago, Ahel said, and – after a | |
period of closure – reopened its doors earlier this year. “We | |
wanted to go back in business to provide for the residents of Gaza to | |
vent and for those seeking education and don’t have electricity and | |
internet,” he said. | |
Silmiya also said the hospital was short of ICU beds and anesthetics to | |
treat the casualties. The death toll increased Monday night after some | |
people died from their injuries. | |
“We are treating the injured on the hospital floor as no rooms and | |
hospital beds are available,” the hospital director added. | |
Among those killed was a freelance journalist, Ismail Abu Hatab, | |
according to other journalists at the scene. | |
The Hamas-controlled Government Media Office said his death brought to | |
228 the number of journalists killed by Israeli military action in Gaza | |
since October 2023. | |
Israeli leaders split ahead of date with Trump | |
News of the strike comes as Israeli leaders debate how to proceed with | |
the war in Gaza ahead of an expected meeting between Prime Minister | |
Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump on July 7. | |
A source familiar with the discussions told CNN Israel had yet to reach | |
a policy decision after two consecutive days of meetings between | |
Netanyahu and his most senior advisers and ministers. However, the | |
source said Netanyahu is interested in a ceasefire deal. | |
Trump has openly pushed for an end to the war in Gaza, saying on Friday | |
a ceasefire will be agreed to “within a week.” | |
The small group of Israel’s most senior government officials includes | |
far-right ministers like Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have | |
both loudly advocated for an intensification of the bombardment of | |
Gaza, and other officials like Aryeh Deri, who favor a comprehensive | |
hostage deal that would bring about the end of the war. | |
Ben Gvir, head of the Jewish Power party, insisted that a “decisive | |
move” must be made in Gaza and expressed frustration that Israel was | |
wasting time and opportunities with each passing day, the source said. | |
Netanyahu is trying to reach a decision before his trip to Washington, | |
DC, to meet Trump, the source said, adding that they may have to come | |
to a decision this week. | |
On Sunday, Netanyahu said “many opportunities have opened up” | |
following Israel’s military operations in Iran, including the | |
possibility of bringing home the remaining hostages held in Gaza. | |
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