33 Palestinians dead in Israeli strike on Gaza beach

Israeli forces launched an air strike on a beach cafe in Gaza City, killing at least 33 Palestinians and injuring approximately 50 others, Middle East Eye via Wafa news agency and Quds Network reported on June 30th.

Quds Network circulated photos and videos online that depicted emergency crews removing bodies from the café and scouring through the rubble.

Gaza’s government media office announced that the Palestinian photojournalist, Ismail Abu Hatab, was among those who lost their lives in the air attack. Hatab had reportedly been employed by various media outlets.

The media office stated that Hatab’s passing raised the number of Palestinian journalists slain in Israeli assaults on Gaza since October 2023 to 227. The strike also wounded journalist Bayan Abusultan, although Abusultan’s present condition remains unclear, Wafa reported.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, broadcasting from Gaza City, stated that the strike on the café happened “without any warning.”

A witness, Yahya Sharif, declared “we found people torn apart,” Al Jazeera reported on June 30th. Sharif continued: “This place wasn’t affiliated with anyone – no politics and no military association whatsoever. It was packed with people including children for a birthday party.”

Gaza’s Government Media Office condemned the assault by Israel, labelling it a “systematic crime” against the Palestinian territory’s health system.

In a previous incident, assaults in Gaza claimed the lives of 26 Palestinians, including individuals who were close to an aid site, Middle East Eye via Al Jazeera Arabic reported on June 27th.

An attack on a shelter, used by displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, also took the lives of two individuals, according to Maghrebi. In another area of the Middle East, Israeli airstrikes caused the death of one woman and left 20 people injured in south Lebanon’s Nabatieh, Al Jazeera reported on June 27th.

Middle East Eye via Wafa and Quds Network, Al Jazeera, Maghrebi.org