Before the war, this restaurant in the Rimal district of Gaza City served Thai cuisine – when you could still find the ingredients in the north of Gaza.
On Wednesday, a bloody day in the Gaza Strip, with several strikes, the restaurant was the most deadly site.
Thirty-three people were killed there and 155 injured, according to the local ministry of health.
I was right opposite when the strike occurred, drinking coffee and using the Internet in another coffee. When I made my way through the noise, smoke and dust to take photos, I came across a scene from the dead and dying.
Those who had survived were trying to help each other as best they could. The injured woman seen on this photo was swept away in a hospital a few moments later.
But at least one hospital could not welcome the high number of victims on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health, which took stock of the day through the enclave at 59 years. His victims’ figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Asked about the objective of the attack, the Israeli army said in a statement on Thursday that its forces had “struck two terrorists from Key Hamas” in the Gaza region.
“Before the strike,” he said, “many measures have been taken to mitigate the risk of harming unrescited civilians, including the use of precise ammunition, air surveillance and additional intelligence.”
Israel was “aware”, according to the press release, “the claim of losses”.
The strikes followed the collapse in March of a ceasefire between the Israelis and Hamas, which sparked the war with its attack on October 7, 2023 against Israel. The Israeli army says that it extends its operations to Gaza to force Hamas to release the remaining hostages seized in this attack.
Outside the coffee on Wednesday, the Gazans despaired when the war returns.
“Enough, enough blood effusion occurs,” said a witness, Ahmed al-Saoudi.
