(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/02/israeli-military-bomb-fragments-gaza-al-baqa-cafe)

The Israeli military used a 500lb (230kg) bomb - a powerful and indiscriminate weapon that generates a massive blast wave and scatters shrapnel over a wide area - when it attacked a target in a crowded beachfront cafe in Gaza on Monday, evidence seen by the Guardian has revealed.

Experts in international law said the use of such a munition despite the known presence of many unprotected civilians, including children, women and elderly people, was almost certainly unlawful and may constitute a war crime.

Fragments of the weapon from the ruins of al-Baqa cafe photographed by the Guardian have been identified by ordnance experts as parts of an MK-82 general purpose 230kg bomb, a US-made staple of many bombing campaigns in recent decades.

[...]

The family-run al-Baqa cafe was founded almost 40 years ago and was well known as a recreation spot for young people and families in Gaza City. It served a small selection of soft drinks, tea and biscuits.

Though the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million population suffer acutely with growing malnutrition and a continuing threat of famine, some have savings or salaries that allow them to patronise the few remaining cafes.

The port area where al-Baqa cafe was located was not covered by any of the evacuation orders issued by the IDF to warn of impending military operations.
[...]

(https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgeqr73p8wyo)

[...]
Meanwhile, the grandmother of 17-year-old Sama Mohammad Abu Namous wept.

The teenager had gone to the cafe that afternoon with her brother, hoping to use the internet connection to study. Relatives said the siblings were walking into the beachside cafe when the bomb hit. Sama was killed, while her brother was rushed to hospital.

"She went to study and they killed her," she said. "Why did she have to return to her grandmother killed?"


The coach of young female boxer Malak Musleh said he was in shock at the loss of his friend of more than 10 years, having first learned the news of her killing through social media.

"She believed that boxing was not just for boys but that girls should have the right too," Osama Ayoub said. "Malak was ambitious. She didn't skip any training day."

He said he last saw Malak about 10 days before the strike, when he dropped off some aid to her and her father.

"We sat together for nearly an hour. She told me that she was continuing her training with her sister and wished I could train them. I told her unfortunately because my house got demolished I live now in Khan Younis [in southern Gaza], but as soon as I hear that there is a ceasefire I will try to go back to training," he said.

"She said to make sure to keep a space for them... She had passion in her eyes and her words."

When Osama saw the Facebook post by Malak's father announcing her death, he "didn't believe it".

"I called him and he confirmed it but I still don't believe it," he said over the phone from a displacement camp.


Artist Amina Omar Al-Salmi, better known as Frans, was also at the cafe with a well-known photographer friend.

Since the 35-year-old's death, one of her pieces depicting a dead woman with her eyes closed and covered in blood, has been shared widely online alongside an image of her after her death, with people noting the striking similarities.

Her sister, now living in Sweden, told the BBC that the last time they spoke, Frans had said that she was sure "something good was going to happen".

"She was happy and said: 'We'll meet soon. You'll see me at your place.'"

What is the point I'm missing?

(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/25/israel-deflect-blame-starvation-gaza-hunger)

Israel is pursuing an extensive PR effort to remove itself from blame for the starvation and killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is responsible.

As dozens of governments, UN organisations and other international figures have detailed Israel's culpability, officials and ministers in Israel have attempted to suggest that there is no hunger in Gaza, that if hunger exists it is not Israel's fault, or to blame Hamas or the UN and aid organisations for problems with distribution of aid.

The Israeli effort has continued even as one of its own government ministers, the far-right heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, appeared to describe an unapologetic policy of starvation, genocide and ethnic cleansing that Israel has denied and said is not official policy.

Amid evidence of a growing number of deaths from starvation in Gaza, including many child deaths, and shocking images and accounts of malnutrition, Israel has tried to deflect blame for what has been described by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) as “man-made mass starvation”.

[...]

Israel's attempts to deflect blame, however, are undermined by its single and overarching responsibility: that as an occupying power in a conflict, it is legally obliged to ensure the provision of means of life for those under occupation.

And while Israel has consistently tried to blame Hamas for intercepting food aid, that claim has been undermined by a leaked US assessment, seen by Reuters, which found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group of US-funded humanitarian supplies.

Examining 156 incidents of theft or loss of US-funded supplies reported by US aid partner organisations between October 2023 and May 2025, it said it found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from US-funded supplies.

Israel has also recently intensified efforts to blame the UN for the problems with aid distribution, citing a “lack of cooperation from the international community and international organisations”. Israel's claims are contradicted by clear evidence of its efforts to undermine aid distribution.

Despite international warnings of the humanitarian risks posed by banning Unrwa, the main UN agency for Palestinians and the organisation with the most experience in Gaza, from Israel, its operations were closed down, complicating aid efforts.

Instead Israel, backed by the US, has relied on the private, inexperienced and controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation; its sites have been the focus of numerous mass killings of desperate Palestinians by Israeli soldiers.

[...]

All of which has injected a new sense of urgency into the catastrophe in Gaza as UN agencies warned that they were on the brink of running out of specialised food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children.

“Most malnutrition treatment supplies have been consumed and what is left at facilities will run out very soon if not replenished,” a WHO spokesperson said on Thursday.

More starvation deaths appear inevitable.

(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/24/far-right-israeli-politicians-and-settlers-discuss-luxury-gaza-riviera-plan)

A group of far-right Israeli politicians and settlers met in parliament this week to discuss a plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, annex the territory and turn it into a hi-tech, luxury resort city for Israelis.

The scheme, titled “The master plan for settlement in the Gaza Strip”, envisions the construction of 850,000 housing units, construction of hi-tech “smart cities” that trade cryptocurrency, and a metro system that runs across the territory. It took its inspiration from an idea shared by the US president, Donald Trump, in February, when he pledged to turn Gaza into the “riviera of the Middle East”.

The text of the plan, which boasts of the economic benefits to Israel, said: “The right of the people of Israel to settle, develop and preserve this land is not just a historical right - it is a national and security obligation.”

The plan, seen by the Guardian, would require Gaza's existing population of about 2 million to be emptied out.
[...]

No, the way to fix it is for Hamas to return the hostages and surrender.

Why is this never an option?