Israel War on Gaza: At least 74 Palestinians were killed on Monday as Israeli forces launched a series of deadly airstrikes and opened fire on civilians desperate for food aid, according to witnesses and health officials.
Among the dead were at least 30 people, including women and children, killed in an airstrike on Al-Baqa Café, a seaside venue in Gaza City. The café was reportedly filled with civilians seeking internet access and a place to charge their phones – a rare functioning business amid 20 months of war.
“Without a warning, all of a sudden, a warplane hit the place, shaking it like an earthquake,” said Ali Abu Ateila, who was inside at the time of the blast.
Dozens were critically wounded in the strike, according to Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry’s emergency and ambulance services in northern Gaza.
Two additional airstrikes on a Gaza City street killed 15 more people, while another strike on a building near the town of Zawaida left six dead, hospitals reported.
Social media videos showed scenes of devastation — bloodied bodies strewn on the ground and the wounded being carried away in blankets.
Dozens shot while returning from food aid centres in Khan Younis
In southern Gaza, Israeli troops reportedly opened fire on Palestinians returning from an aid site, killing at least 11 people, according to local hospitals and the Health Ministry.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said the victims were shot while returning from a food distribution point affiliated with the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF). The attack fits a deadly pattern: more than 500 Palestinians have been killed near GHF aid hubs in the past month alone.
The shootings took place approximately 3 kilometres from the GHF site, along the only passable route back. Due to blockades and restricted access, Palestinians are often forced to walk long distances for even the chance to collect aid.
An additional person was reported killed near a GHF site in Rafah, and another near the Netzarim Corridor , which separates northern and southern Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. Ten more people were killed at a United Nations aid warehouse in northern Gaza, emergency services confirmed.
Palestinians witnesses describe live fire and detentions
Monzer Hisham Ismail, a witness in Khan Younis, said Israeli troops opened fire on crowds returning from the aid site.
“We were targeted by (the Israeli) artillery,” he said.
Another survivor, Yousef Mahmoud Mokheimar, said tanks approached and fired warning shots before shooting directly at the crowd.
“They fired at us indiscriminately,” he said, adding that he was shot in the leg and saw another man shot while trying to help him.
Mokheimar said troops detained six people, including three children. “We don’t know whether they are still alive,” he said.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incidents. In previous statements, the military has said it fires warning shots if individuals behave suspiciously or approach troops during aid collection.
Israel is promoting the GHF to replace aid distribution by the United Nations and international NGOs. Alongside the United States, it accuses Hamas of diverting humanitarian aid — a claim the UN strongly denies.
The military said it had implemented steps to improve aid access, including new fencing, signage, and additional distribution routes.
Civilian casualties mount as war grinds on
Elsewhere in northern Gaza, Israeli bombardments intensified across Gaza City and the Jabaliya refugee camp. Widespread evacuation orders were issued on Sunday and Monday, as what residents described as a “scorched earth” campaign flattened already devastated areas.
“They destroy whatever is left standing… the sound of bombing hasn’t stopped,” said Mohamed Mahdy, a Gaza City resident who fled his damaged home on Monday.
According to emergency services head Fares Awad, most of Gaza City and Jabaliya are now inaccessible, with ambulances unable to reach the injured trapped beneath rubble.
The Israeli military maintains it is targeting Hamas military infrastructure and says it has made efforts to warn civilians in advance of operations.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began — over half of them women and children. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The conflict was triggered by a Hamas-led assault on Israel in October 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. Around 50 hostages remain unaccounted for, many presumed dead.