Israeli Strikes Kill 74 in Gaza as Aid Distribution Sites Targeted Amid Intensified Offensive

Israeli Strikes Kill 74 in Gaza as Aid Distribution Sites Targeted Amid Intensified Offensive

Last Updated Jul - 01 - 2025, 12:20 PM | Source : Fela News

At least 74 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on June 30, including 30 at a Gaza café and 23 near aid sites. Witnesses report indiscriminate fire as s

On Monday, June 30, 2025, Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 74 people across Gaza, including 30 individuals at a popular seaside café and 23 others who were attempting to collect desperately needed aid, according to health officials and eyewitnesses.

One of the deadliest incidents occurred at Al-Baqa Café in Gaza City, which was crowded with women and children at the time. “It felt like an earthquake when the warplane struck without any warning,” said Ali Abu Ateila, who was inside the café. Fares Awad, head of emergency services in northern Gaza’s Health Ministry, reported that alongside the 30 killed, dozens more were critically injured.

Other airstrikes in Gaza City killed an additional 15 people, as confirmed by Shifa Hospital, while a separate strike near Zawaida claimed six lives, according to Al-Aqsa Hospital.

Al-Baqa Café was one of the few establishments still operating during the nearly two-year war and served as a key place for locals to charge phones and access the internet. Videos circulating online showed the aftermath, with disfigured bodies and injured individuals being carried away in blankets.

In southern Gaza, Israeli forces shot and killed 11 people who had just collected aid, as reported by witnesses and medical facilities. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said the victims were returning from a Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) site, a U.S. and Israeli-backed aid initiative. The incident adds to a grim pattern—over 500 Palestinians have reportedly died around GHF aid distribution points in the past month.

The shootings occurred approximately three kilometers from the GHF hub, along the only accessible return route. Nasser Hospital also reported an additional death near a GHF site in Rafah, and another fatality was recorded near the Netzarim corridor, which divides northern and southern Gaza. Ten more people were killed at a U.N. aid warehouse in northern Gaza, according to the Health Ministry’s ambulance service.

Witnesses described intense gunfire. Monzer Hisham Ismail said Israeli artillery targeted the crowds, while Yousef Mahmoud Mokheimar, who was shot in the leg, said Israeli troops in tanks opened fire after issuing warning shots. He added that six people, including three children, were detained during the chaos. “We don’t know if they are still alive,” he said.

The Israeli military acknowledged it was reviewing the incidents. It previously stated that warning shots are used to deter individuals approaching too closely or behaving suspiciously, even at aid sites.

Israel has expressed a desire to shift control of aid from the U.N. and international organizations to the GHF, arguing that Hamas misappropriated supplies. The U.N. rejects claims of systematic diversion. The Israeli military said it has recently taken measures to improve aid access, such as erecting new fencing, adding signage, and opening more routes.

Despite these claims, strikes escalated across Gaza City and the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp, with Israel issuing new evacuation orders over the weekend. Residents described the attacks as a “scorched earth” campaign that leveled buildings and devastated infrastructure. “They’re destroying whatever is left… the bombing hasn’t stopped,” said Gaza City resident Mohamed Mahdy, who fled his damaged home on Monday.

Emergency responders, including Awad, reported that large parts of Gaza City and Jabaliya were unreachable due to the intensity of the bombing, and ambulances were unable to respond to those trapped under debris.

The Israeli military stated it had taken steps to notify civilians in advance of operations targeting Hamas’s military leadership in northern Gaza.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, over 56,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, with women and children comprising more than half of the casualties. The conflict began after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and led to the abduction of 251 hostages. Around 50 hostages remain, with many presumed dead.

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