Latest news with #FransAlSalmi
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Witnesses describe grim aftermath of Israeli strike on busy Gaza cafe
Witnesses have described the bloody aftermath of an Israeli strike on a crowded seaside cafe in Gaza, which left at least 24 dead and many more injured. Al-Baqa cafe, close to the harbour in Gaza City, was almost full in the early afternoon on Tuesday when it was hit by a missile, immediately transforming a scene of relative calm amid the biggest urban centre in Gaza into one of carnage. Among those killed, who included many women, children and elderly people, was a Palestinian photojournalist, Ismail Abu Hatab, and an artist, Frans al-Salmi, who had exhibited internationally. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday that it was reviewing the attack, which it said had struck 'several Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip'. Abu al-Nour, 60, said he had stepped outside the cafe to get some lunch and was returning when the attack took place. 'Just as I was close, a missile struck. Shrapnel flew everywhere, and the place filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder. I couldn't see anything. I ran toward the cafe and found it destroyed. I went inside and saw bodies lying on the ground. All the cafe workers were killed,' he told the Guardian. 'There was a family there with their young children – why were they targeted? It was a place where people came to find some relief from the pressures of life.' The cafe and restaurant had so far survived more than 20 months of war and offered some respite from the relentless violence of the conflict. 'There's always a lot of people at that spot, which offers drinks, spaces for families and internet access,' said Ahmad al-Nayrab, 26, who was walking on the nearby beach when he heard a loud explosion. 'It was a massacre,' he told AFP. 'I saw bits of bodies flying everywhere, bodies mangled and burned. It was a bloodcurdling scene; everybody was screaming.' Adam, 21, was working nearby, renting chairs and tables on the small promenade. 'When the strike happened, we dropped to the ground as shrapnel began falling on us,' he told the Guardian. 'We started running, trying to understand what had happened, and we helped with the rescue efforts. When I reached the site, the scenes were beyond anything imaginable. I knew all the workers at the place. It was full of customers of all ages.' Other witnesses described seeing a dead four-year-old child, an elderly man with both legs severed and many others with severe injuries. Photographs showed pools of blood and flesh amid shattered concrete columns and roofing, as well as a deep crater suggesting the use of a powerful weapon by Israel. The IDF spokesperson said that 'prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance'. Two other strikes in Gaza City killed 15 people, according to al-Shifa hospital, which received the casualties, and there were also reports from witnesses, hospitals, and Gaza's health ministry that Israeli forces killed 11 people who had been seeking food in the south of the territory. Dozens of international charities and non-governmental organizations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty, called on Tuesday for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – an Israeli and US-backed logistics group – to disband after repeated incidents of chaos and deadly violence against Palestinians heading toward its sites. 'Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families,' they said. GHF started distributing aid on 26 May after a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that has pushed Gaza's population of more than 2 million people to the brink of famine. According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed around the chaotic and controversial aid distribution programme over the past month. In a statement, GHF said said it had delivered 53m meals in Gaza and was working tirelessly to feed as many innocent people as possible, adding: 'Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza.' Israel has ramped up its offensive in Gaza in recent days, with multiple waves of airstrikes and new 'evacuation orders' which have forced tens of thousands of people to leave makeshift homes across a swath of the north of the devastated territory. The orders warned of impending assaults and told Palestinians to head south to overcrowded coastal zones where there are few facilities and a limited supply of water. About 80% of the territory is now covered by such orders or controlled by Israeli forces. The IDF has signalled that it plans to advance into the centre of Gaza City, the most densely populated part of Gaza, to fight Hamas militants based there. The war began when Hamas-led militants launched an attack into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages back to Gaza. Israel's subsequent military offensive has killed more than 56,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, displacing almost the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza and reducing much of the territory to rubble.
The National
4 days ago
- The National
Gazans lose seaside 'lifeline' in Israeli strike on cafe
An Israeli strike on a seaside cafe in Gaza has destroyed a popular sanctuary for artists, students and young people hoping for a moment of normality amid the devastation of war. Known for seafront views and a welcoming atmosphere, Al Baqa rest area was a popular spot in Gaza city. On Monday it became the site of yet another tragedy with at least 34 people reported dead, and others injured, in Israel's attack. Emergency crews took the dead and critically wounded to Gaza's Al Shifa Medical Complex, where staff worked through the night in overwhelmed wards. Gaza's youth have been particularly affected by the attack. 'Al Baqa isn't just a place, it's a lifeline,' said Mohammed Al Mabhouh, 27, from Gaza city's Al Rimal neighbourhood. 'We used to go there every day, just to breathe, to laugh, to sit by the sea and feel human again.' He recalled the moments before the strike, when he and his friends had been planning another visit. 'When I heard it had been bombed, I was in shock," he said. "Most of the people who were killed or injured are people we know, people with no connection to resistance or weapons. Just ordinary folks trying to find a moment of peace outside the nightmare we've lived since the war began.' Israel said it had "struck several Hamas terrorists" in the north of Gaza. In a statement to AFP, the army said it was reviewing the attack on the cafe. Among the victims was Frans Al Salmi, a Palestinian artist whose work had become symbolic of Gaza's resilience. She often visited Al Baqa to meet friends and sit by the sea, where she found quiet moments to reflect and imagine new pieces to share with her community and the world. 'Frans was known personally by many people in Gaza, or through the beautiful artworks she shared with the public,' her cousin, Ahmad Al Salmi, told The National. 'She was always a source of inspiration for so many young people here. 'The occupation makes no distinction between civilians and fighters, between women, children and men. Killing artists and journalists is a compounded crime and with Frans' death Gaza has lost a young artist who still had so much to give.' Another familiar face lost in the strike was Ismail Abu Hatab, a photojournalist and media trainer. Described by a friend as a thoughtful man dedicated to his craft, he had been a regular at Al Baqa before and during the war. 'Ismail had a way of speaking slowly, choosing his words carefully, and using his hands to bring his ideas to life,' his friend and fellow journalist Salem Al Rayyis said. 'He barely survived a life-threatening injury at the start of the war, but came back stronger, committed to documenting our reality and training the next generation of journalists.' As families bury the dead and survivors are reeling from the trauma, Gaza continues to mourn not only the lives lost, but also the spaces of community, creativity and comfort that are being erased one by one. Mr Al Mabhouh was displaced to southern Gaza at the beginning of the war. 'When I came back from the south, the first thing I wanted to visit was Al Baqa, and I was happy that the place was reopened and people visit it," he said. "Now, actually, we worry to stay in any place in Gaza, where everything is targeted." Mr Al Mabhouh said Israel wanted to ensure besieged Palestinians did not experience any joy in life. 'They want to kill happiness, hope and life itself," he added. "They want to destroy any space where we can escape the pain, even for a little while.'
Sky News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
As Israel intensifies its bombardment of devastated Gaza, diplomatic efforts feel like they're unfolding on another planet
While international mediators talk of renewed hopes for a ceasefire, the situation on the ground in Gaza tells a far darker story - one of continued devastation, rising casualties, and a humanitarian crisis with no end in sight. On Monday, one of Gaza City's few remaining beachfront cafes - a rare location still offering reliable internet access - was hit in a deadly airstrike. The cafe was crowded at the time, and was popular with university students. According to medical responders, at least 22 people were killed in the attack. 2:22 Eyewitnesses described the horror of what happened. "Forget red lines. We're past that. Nothing left to say. Looked around all I see is blood. Men, martyrs, limbs. "Unbelievable. People come here to take a break from what they see inside Gaza. They come westward to breathe." Among the dead were Frans Al-Salmi, a prominent Palestinian artist, and Ismael Abu Khatab, a well-known photojournalist. More than 50 others were wounded in the blast. Graphic images from the scene show chaos and carnage. Images captured moments after the explosion show journalist Bayan Abu Sultan covered in blood and visibly dazed. The attack came as part of a broader escalation in airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. In the last 24 hours, Israel has intensified its bombardment, launching some of the heaviest raids seen in recent weeks. The strikes coincide with new evacuation orders issued for areas in northern Gaza, triggering yet another wave of mass displacement among an already devastated civilian population. Each day in Gaza brings new funerals and new grief. Civilians - exhausted, hungry, and increasingly desperate - have little choice but to endure. Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, there is talk of a potential breakthrough. A proposed 60-day truce, tied to a staged hostage exchange, remains on the table. Yet significant differences remain. Hamas wants a permanent end to the war, while the Israeli government insists on retaining the right to resume military operations once any temporary ceasefire expires. These fundamental disagreements have repeatedly derailed negotiations in the past - and could do so again. For the people trapped in Gaza, the renewed diplomatic efforts feel distant, abstract - as if unfolding on another planet.
