Cnn
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More than 40 people were killed in an Israeli air strike which struck a coffee near the port of Gaza City, according to the head of the largest hospital in the territory.
Dr. Mohammad Abu Silmiya, director of the Al-Shifa hospital, said on Monday evening in an update that at least 41 people had been killed and 75 injured in the strike.
CNN geolo -featured videos show thick smoke rising from the scene as well as widespread damage to coffee and surroundings. They also showed that the bodies were removed from civilians.
Israeli defense forces have told CNN that the incident was “being examined”. In response to questions on the strike, the FDIs said: “Earlier in the day (Monday), the FDIs struck several Hamas terrorists in the Northern Gaza Strip. Before the strike, measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians using air surveillance. ”
The Al-Baqa café was a well-known place for students, journalists and distant workers because it offered the Internet and a workplace by the Mediterranean coast.
Silmiya told CNN that “most victims are women and children”, including many students who were at the cafe for internet access.
He also said the hospital was short of intensive care and anesthetics beds to treat the victims. The number of deaths increased on Monday evening after the death of some people from their injuries.
“We are dealing with the injured on the soil of the hospital because no room and hospital beds are available,” added the hospital director.
Among the people killed, there was an independent journalist, Ismail Abu Hatab, according to other journalists on the scene.
The government’s media office controlled by Hamas said its death had brought the number of journalists killed by Israeli military action in Gaza since October 2023 to 228.
The news of the strike comes as Israeli leaders debate the war in Gaza before a meeting expected between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump on July 7.
A familiar source with the discussions said CNN Israel had not yet made a political decision after two consecutive days of meetings between Netanyahu and its most senior advisers and ministers. However, the source said Netanyahu is interested in a ceasefire agreement.
Trump openly pushed the end of the war in Gaza, claiming on Friday that a cease-fire will be agreed “in a week”.
The small group of senior officials of the government of Israel includes far -right ministers such as Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who both pleaded for an intensification of the bombing of Gaza, and other officials like Aryeh Deri, who promote a complete case of sea lions that would lead to the end of the war.
Ben Gvir, head of the Jewish power party, insisted that a “decisive movement” must be done in Gaza and expressed his frustration that Israel was wasting time and opportunities every day, said the source.
Netanyahu tries to make a decision before his trip to Washington, DC, to meet Trump, said the source, adding that they should take place this week.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that “many opportunities opened up” following Israeli military operations in Iran, including the possibility of bringing the remaining hostages to Gaza home.
Tim Lister and CNN Dana Karni contributed to this report.
