# Israeli strike on Gaza City café kills at least 39, including journalists and athletes
An Israeli airstrike on the Al-Baqa café on the Gaza City waterfront killed at least 39 people and wounded dozens more, according to reporting from NOS. The café was a gathering place for young Gazans, and the dead included journalists, sports figures, artists and other people who had gone there to work, meet friends or escape the war for a short time.
The packet describes the strike as one of the deadliest single attacks in Gaza in recent weeks. It says the café was outside the evacuation zone issued by Israel, and that people inside were working or attending a children’s party when the strike hit. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said Hamas members were among the intended targets and said the army would investigate possible errors.
The location matters. The Al-Baqa café was more than a restaurant or beachside hangout. According to the reporting, it had become one of the few places in Gaza City with a relatively stable internet connection and was used by students, journalists, activists and artists. That made it both a social space and a working space for people trying to maintain some form of normal life during the war.
The names in the report show the breadth of the loss. Ismail Abu Hatab, a filmmaker, photojournalist and founder of the ByPa collective, was among those killed, along with fellow journalist Omar Zaino. The report also says journalist Bayan Abu Sultan was wounded. The Palestinian Olympic Committee said footballer Mustafa Abu Amireh and boxer Malak Musleh were also killed in the strike.
Those details give the attack a particular resonance beyond the immediate death toll. When a single strike kills journalists, athletes and creative workers at a site known for connectivity and communal life, it becomes not just a military event but also a blow to the city’s social fabric and memory.
The article also says the strike came on a notably deadly day in Gaza, with at least 74 deaths reported across the territory. That broader context suggests the café strike was part of a much wider escalation in which civilian spaces remained under extreme pressure.
Israel’s military said it was trying to reduce the risk of civilian harm by using aerial imagery, but the packet makes clear that Palestinians on the ground viewed the café as a place to work, rest and socialize. That gap between military intent and civilian experience lies at the heart of the reporting.
Because the supplied material is based on one source, this article cannot verify the military’s target claim or the full casualty list independently. It can, however, establish that the strike was deadly, that it hit a well-known Gaza City gathering place and that the dead included figures from journalism, sport and the arts.
Event date: 2025-06-30
