At least 95 Palestinians, including women, children, and a journalist, were killed on Monday as Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple civilian sites across Gaza, including a seaside café, a school sheltering displaced families, and a hospital courtyard.
According to Gaza’s health authorities, 62 of the fatalities occurred in Gaza City and the northern parts of the besieged enclave. One of the deadliest strikes hit Al-Baqa café on the coast of northern Gaza City, killing 39 people, including journalist Ismail Abu Hatab.
Eyewitnesses described a harrowing scene at the cafe, where children had gathered for a birthday celebration. “We found people torn apart,” said Yahya Sharif, one of the survivors. “This place wasn’t affiliated with anyone — no politics and no militants. Just families trying to find a brief moment of normalcy.”
Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent, Hani Mahmoud, reported from the scene, saying the attack occurred “without any warning” and left behind a massive crater. “This area served as a refuge for many traumatised and displaced people. The explosion was so intense that body parts had to be collected from the flood of the site,” he added.
Separately, Israeli forces also bombed the Yafa school in Gaza City, which was serving as a shelter for hundreds of displaced Palestinians. Local resident Hamada Abu Jaradeh, who fled minutes before the attack, said evacuees were given only a five-minute warning.
In central Gaza, the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah was struck by Israeli fire. Videos verified by Al Jazeera showed tents damaged and panicked civilians fleeing for safety. Al Jazeera journalist Tareq Abu Azzoum, who was broadcasting nearby, said the explosion occurred without warning and was the tenth such attack on the hospital compound since the start of the conflict.
“This is a staggering concentration of attacks on medical facilities, adding further burden to Gaza’s already crippled health sector,” Mr Abu Azzoum said.
Gaza’s Government Media Office condemned the strikes, terming them a “systematic crime” against the territory’s health system. “Its warplanes bombed a tent for the displaced inside the walls of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, causing injuries and threatening the lives of dozens of patients,” a statement read.
Meanwhile, in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, at least 15 Palestinians were killed and 50 others injured in an airstrike near an aid distribution centre operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to sources at the Nasser Medical Complex.
The GHF, which began overseeing limited aid deliveries in late May amid Israel’s ongoing blockade, has seen nearly 600 civilians killed in attacks on its aid hubs over the past month.
The Israeli military acknowledged that civilians were harmed in the aid centre attacks and said new instructions had been issued based on “lessons learned”. However, Israeli outlet Haaretz reported that soldiers were ordered to fire on unarmed civilians at the sites, quoting unnamed personnel who alleged deliberate use of excessive force.
Residents of Khan Younis also reported fresh home demolitions and feared a renewed ground offensive. Forced evacuation orders were issued again in parts of northern Gaza, including the Zeitoun suburb, from where Israeli troops had previously withdrawn after leaving widespread destruction.
“Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,” said Salah, 60, a father of five from Gaza City. “They talk of ceasefire in the media, but on the ground, we see death.”
Israeli tanks reportedly pushed into the eastern Zeitoun area, while air raids destroyed at least four schools after families sheltering there were ordered to evacuate. At least 10 people were killed in the Zeitoun strikes, while another 13 died southwest of Gaza City.
The latest attacks come as international pressure mounts on Israel to halt its 22-month military campaign in Gaza, which rights groups say has devastated the enclave’s infrastructure and health system. The United Nations and several human rights bodies have accused Israel of systematically targeting hospitals, aid sites and civilian shelters, raising grave concerns of potential war crimes.
