A Palestinian checks an area of a cafe that was damaged in an Israeli strike, Gaza City. AP
The attack struck the Al-Baqa Cafeteria, located on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast. Gaza’s Civil Defence said rescue teams were still searching through the crater left by the strike, while dozens of wounded were rushed to Al-Ahli Hospital, according to the BBC.
Among the dead was photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab, according to multiple media outlets. Another journalist, Bayan Abu Sultan, was wounded but is in stable condition.
Videos posted on social media showed the moment of the strike and its grim aftermath, with bodies strewn across the ground. “The scene was horrific — bodies, blood, screaming everywhere,” cameraman Aziz Al-Afifi, who narrowly escaped the blast, told the BBC.
Al-Baqa Cafeteria was an outdoor venue featuring tents that offered internet access, seating, and workspace for locals. In recent months, it has become a hub for journalists, activists, and remote workers seeking connectivity and community amid the ongoing Israeli genocide.
Part of a pattern
Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has made the territory the world’s deadliest place for journalists. According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), at least 226 journalists have been killed, 430 injured, 48 detained, and 112 media offices or institutions destroyed in Palestine—mostly in Gaza. Those killed represent nearly 20 percent of all Palestinian journalists.
Journalists in Gaza have reported deliberate targeting by Israeli forces, citing incidents such as an Israeli tank firing on press-marked reporters in Gaza’s Hamad City, killing journalist Ibrahim Muhareb and injuring others.
Despite relentless bombing that has spared no neighbourhood, many journalists continue to work under fire to document massacres and displacement, though they are physically and emotionally exhausted.
Media workers say Israel’s attacks on journalists and media infrastructure form part of a broader strategy to suppress evidence of alleged atrocities in Gaza, contributing to a form of narrative warfare where controlling information is as vital as battlefield gains.
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