Israel's strike on bustling Gaza cafe killed a Hamas operative - but dozens more people were killed

Moments earlier the explosion, artists, students and athletes were among those gathered astatine a bustling seaside cafe successful Gaza City.

Huddled astir tables, customers astatine al-Baqa Cafeteria were scrolling connected their phones, sipping blistery drinks, and catching up with friends. At 1 point, the acquainted melody of "Happy Birthday" rang retired arsenic a young kid celebrated with family.

In a quiescent country of the cafe overlooking the sea, a Hamas operative, dressed successful civilian clothing, arrived astatine his table, sources told the BBC.

It was then, without warning, that a weaponry was dropped by Israeli forces and tore done the building, they said.

At the dependable of the explosion, radical adjacent flooded onto the streets and into al-Baqa successful a hopeless hunt for survivors.

"The country was horrific - bodies, blood, screaming everywhere," 1 antheral told the BBC aboriginal that day.

"It was full destruction," said another. "A existent massacre happened astatine al-Baqa Cafeteria. A existent massacre that breaks hearts."

The BBC has reviewed 29 names of radical reported killed successful the onslaught connected the cafe connected Monday. Twenty-six of the deaths were confirmed by aggregate sources, including done interviews with family, friends and eyewitness accounts.

At slightest 9 of those killed were women, and respective were children oregon teenagers. They included artists, students, societal activists, a pistillate boxer, a footballer and cafe staff.

The behaviour of the onslaught and the standard of civilian casualties person amplified questions implicit the proportionality of Israel's subject operations successful Gaza, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accidental are aimed astatine defeating Hamas and rescuing the hostages inactive being held by the group.

Family members successful Gaza and overseas spoke to the BBC of their daze and devastation astatine the killings.

"We were talking with each different 2 days ago. We were sending reels to each other. I can't judge it," said a young Palestinian antheral surviving successful the US whose 21-year-old "bestie" Muna Juda and different adjacent friend, Raghad Alaa Abu Sultan, were some killed successful the strike.

The numbers of deaths analysed by the BBC were broadly accordant with figures fixed by the Hamas-run Civil Defence Agency, a elder section medic and the Palestinian Red Crescent successful the days aft the strike.

Staff astatine Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies, said its toll arsenic of Thursday had reached 40 deaths, including radical who had succumbed to their injuries, and unidentified bodies.

An authoritative astatine the infirmary said immoderate of the bodies had been "blown to pieces", and that 72 injured patients were brought determination - galore having sustained terrible burns and important injuries that required surgery. He said galore were students.

In a connection aft the strike, the IDF said it had been targeting "terrorists" and that steps were taken to "mitigate the hazard of harming civilians utilizing aerial surveillance".

"The IDF volition proceed to run against the Hamas violent enactment successful bid to region immoderate menace posed to Israeli civilians," it added, earlier saying the "incident" was "under review".

The IDF did not straight respond to aggregate BBC questions astir the people of the strike, oregon whether it considered the fig of civilian casualties to beryllium proportionate.

Al-Baqa Cafeteria was well-known crossed the Gaza Strip, considered by galore to beryllium among the territory's astir scenic and vibrant gathering spots.

Split implicit 2 floors and divided into men's and mixed household sections, it had views retired to the Mediterranean Sea and tv screens wherever radical could ticker shot matches. It was a spot to stitchery for coffee, beverage and shisha with friends, and was a peculiar favourite with journalists.

Al-Baqa had remained fashionable adjacent during the war, particularly due to the fact that of its unusually unchangeable net connection. The cafe, which had until present survived mostly unscathed, besides served up a reminder of the beingness that existed earlier the bombardments.

A cafe manager told the BBC that determination was a strict introduction policy. "It was known to our customers that if immoderate idiosyncratic looked similar a target, past they were not fto wrong the cafeteria - this was for our information and the information of the radical there," helium said.

On the time of the strike, the larboard country of Gaza City wherever the cafe is located was not nether Israeli evacuation orders, and families of those killed connected Monday accidental they had felt arsenic harmless arsenic is imaginable erstwhile heading there.

Staff told the BBC that the onslaught successful the aboriginal day - betwixt the Muslim prayers of Zuhr and Asr - was extracurricular of the cafe's busiest hours.

The onslaught deed a conception of the men's country wherever unit said fewer radical were astatine the time.

BBC Verify showed respective experts photos of the crater near successful the aftermath of the detonation and the remaining munition fragments. Most said that they believed it was caused by a bomb, alternatively than a missile, with a scope of size estimates given, astatine a maximum of 500lb (230kg).

The IDF told the BBC it would not remark connected the benignant of munition used.

A writer who was successful the country astatine the clip of the onslaught and spoke to eyewitnesses instantly afterwards told the BBC the munition that deed the cafe "was launched from a warplane - not from a drone that would usually people 1 oregon 2 people… It looked similar they were precise keen connected getting their target". His relationship was accordant with others we spoke to.

Twenty-seven-year-old Hisham Ayman Mansour, whose deceased begetter had been a starring fig successful Hamas' subject wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, was among those successful the men's conception by the sea.

His member was antecedently killed by Israeli forces, and 1 societal media station mourning his decease suggested the member had taken portion successful the 7 October 2023 attacks.

A section Hamas root said Hisham was the people of the strike, and described him arsenic a tract commandant with the group, a "mid-ranking role".

Tributes posted connected societal media besides referred to him arsenic a "fighter" and "member of the resistance". His relative besides described him to the BBC arsenic a "fighter" with the proscribed group, but said helium thought helium was "low-level" and not presently active.

It is unclear what helium was doing successful the cafe that day, with 2 sources telling the BBC helium was believed to beryllium determination for a "money drop", portion different suggested helium was determination for "coffee and a abbreviated respite" and that helium had not been progressive successful "militant activities" during the war.

A photograph shared connected societal media purported to amusement Hisham astatine the aforesaid spot successful the men's country of the cafe the time earlier the strike, wearing a headdress and sports t-shirt. Photos of his assemblage aft the onslaught successful the aforesaid outfit were shared by household and friends.

Two members of his household - 1 of them a kid - were besides killed.

The IDF would not corroborate whether Hisham was the superior target, oregon 1 of a fig of targets of the strike.

One erstwhile elder IDF authoritative told the BBC helium understood that "multiple Hamas operatives" were deed astatine the cafe, but that a alleged conflict harm appraisal was inactive ongoing. A root with Israeli quality connections pointed towards a societal media station naming Hisham arsenic the target.

Sources successful Gaza gave the BBC the sanction of a much elder Hamas commandant who was rumoured to person been seated connected a adjacent table, but posts connected societal media said helium died the pursuing time and did not notation the cafe.

The Hamas root said Hisham was the lone idiosyncratic wrong the radical killed astatine al-Baqa, portion the IDF did not respond to questions astir the commander.

An anti-Hamas activistic told the BBC that "many Hamas people" were injured successful the strike, including 1 who worked with the radical but not arsenic a fighter, who mislaid his limb successful the explosion.

Medics could not corroborate this account, but said that they dealt with galore radical with terrible injuries, including those arriving with missing limbs oregon requiring amputations.

Israel does not let planetary journalists entree to Gaza to study connected the warfare making it hard to verify information, and Hamas has historically ruled the territory with an robust grip, making speaking retired oregon immoderate dissent dangerous.

The remainder of this nonfiction contains details immoderate readers whitethorn find distressing.

Among the bodies and the debris successful al-Baqa were traces of the civilian lives mislaid - a elephantine pinkish and achromatic teddy bear, its stuffing partially exposed, a child's tiny shoe, and playing cards soaked successful blood.

A displaced antheral who was successful the country seeing household astatine the clip of the onslaught was among those who went moving into the cafe to effort to find survivors.

"Shrapnel was everywhere… determination were galore injuries," helium told the BBC.

He said erstwhile helium entered portion of the men's conception that helium recovered the bodies of waiters and different workers, and saw arsenic 1 "took his past breath".

"It was crazy," said Saeed Ahel, a regular astatine the cafe and person of its managers.

"The waiters were gathered astir the barroom since it was shady and breezy there. Around [six] of them were killed," helium added, earlier listing their names. More were injured.

The parent of 2 young men who worked astatine the cafe screamed arsenic she followed their bodies portion they were carried connected a expanse retired of the wreckage connected Monday.

A distraught antheral pointed astatine a adust spot of humor connected the floor, wherever helium said bits of encephalon and skull had been splattered. He had enactment them successful a container and carried them out.

Meanwhile, the grandma of 17-year-old Sama Mohammad Abu Namous wept.

The teen had gone to the cafe that day with her brother, hoping to usage the net transportation to study. Relatives said the siblings were walking into the beachside cafe erstwhile the weaponry hit. Sama was killed, portion her member was rushed to hospital.

"She went to survey and they killed her," she said. "Why did she person to instrumentality to her grandma killed?"

The manager of young pistillate boxer Malak Musleh said helium was successful daze astatine the nonaccomplishment of his person of much than 10 years, having archetypal learned the quality of her sidesplitting done societal media.

"She believed that boxing was not conscionable for boys but that girls should person the close too," Osama Ayoub said. "Malak was ambitious. She didn't skip immoderate grooming day."

He said helium past saw Malak astir 10 days earlier the strike, erstwhile helium dropped disconnected immoderate assistance to her and her father.

"We sat unneurotic for astir an hour. She told maine that she was continuing her grooming with her sister and wished I could bid them. I told her unluckily due to the fact that my location got demolished I unrecorded present successful Khan Younis [in confederate Gaza], but arsenic soon arsenic I perceive that determination is simply a ceasefire I volition effort to spell backmost to training," helium said.

"She said to marque definite to support a abstraction for them… She had passionateness successful her eyes and her words."

When Osama saw the Facebook station by Malak's begetter announcing her death, helium "didn't judge it".

"I called him and helium confirmed it but I inactive don't judge it," helium said implicit the telephone from a displacement camp.

Artist Amina Omar Al-Salmi, amended known arsenic Frans, was besides astatine the cafe with a well-known lensman friend.

Since the 35-year-old's death, 1 of her pieces depicting a dormant pistillate with her eyes closed and covered successful blood, has been shared wide online alongside an representation of her aft her death, with radical noting the striking similarities.

Her sister, present surviving successful Sweden, told the BBC that the past clip they spoke, Frans had said that she was definite "something bully was going to happen".

"She was blessed and said: 'We'll conscionable soon. You'll spot maine astatine your place.'"

Additional reporting by Riam El Delati and Muath al-Khatib

Verification by Emma Pengelly and Richie Irvine-Brown