Israeli forces say they killed the commander of Hamas’s naval pressure in northern Gaza in a strike on a seaside cafe during which dozens of civilians have been killed.
After the assault on the favored al-Baqa cafe in Gaza Metropolis on Monday, members of the family in Gaza and overseas advised the BBC of their shock on the scale of civilian casualties.
In a press release on Sunday, the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) stated the strike killed Ramzi Ramadan Abd Ali Saleh, together with Hisham Ayman Atiya Mansour, deputy head of Hamas’s mortar unit, and Nissim Muhammad Suleiman Abu Sabha.
Saleh was a “important supply of data” inside Hamas and had been concerned in planning and advancing “maritime terrorist assaults”, the IDF stated.
Sources in Gaza had beforehand advised the BBC a senior Hamas commander was rumoured to have been on the cafe on the time of the strike.
The IDF additionally stated it had taken steps “to mitigate the danger of harming civilians” however didn’t present any additional particulars as to why so many individuals have been killed within the incident.
The BBC has reviewed 29 names of individuals reported killed within the strike on the cafe, a minimum of 9 of whom have been girls, whereas a number of have been youngsters and youngsters.
These killed included artists, college students, social activists, a feminine boxer, a footballer and cafe workers.
Employees at Shifa Hospital, which acquired our bodies from the assault, stated its toll as of Thursday had reached 40 useless, together with individuals who had succumbed to their accidents, and unidentified our bodies.
An official on the hospital stated among the our bodies had been “blown to items”, and that 72 injured sufferers have been introduced there – many having sustained extreme burns and important accidents that required surgical procedure.
The al-Baqa Cafeteria was well-known throughout the Gaza Strip, and regarded by many to be among the many territory’s most scenic and vibrant assembly spots.
It had remained fashionable even through the warfare, particularly as a result of its unusually steady web connection.
The IDF didn’t immediately reply to a number of BBC questions on whether or not it thought-about the variety of civilian casualties to be proportionate.
In its assertion on Sunday it stated it might “proceed to function in opposition to the Hamas terrorist group in an effort to take away any risk posed to Israeli civilians”, earlier than saying the “incident” was “underneath assessment”.
In the meantime, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas began in Qatar on Sunday to debate the culture proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage launch deal.
The Israeli army launched a marketing campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 assault, during which about 1,200 individuals have been killed and 251 others have been taken hostage.
At the least 57,338 individuals have been killed in Gaza since then, in line with the territory’s Hamas-run well being ministry.