Israeli strike on seaside cafe kills dozens in Gaza City: witnesses

An Israeli airstrike hit a seaside cafe near Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens more, most of them women, children and journalists.

The Al-Baqa cafe, located on the western Gaza Strip, was packed with people seeking refuge from the perilous conditions and escaping the sweltering summer heat of their shelters.

Videos captured thick plumes of smoke billowing from the scene, revealing extensive destruction to the cafe and its surroundings, as eyewitnesses recounted the devastating events. "Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion and started running. We found human remains scattered in the sea. This is a public area where people come to find some relief. But they are still targeted," said Hani al-Durra, an eyewitness.

The cafe, one of Gaza City's few remaining businesses during the 20-month war, was a rare location offering internet access.

"People come to the beach to relax, play, and use the internet and charge their cellphones," said Mohammed al-Saidi, another eyewitness.

Israel resumed military operations in the enclave on March 18. Since then, at least 6,203 Palestinians have been killed and 21,601 others wounded, according to Gaza-based health authorities on Monday. This brings the total Palestinian death toll since the outbreak of the conflict in October 2023 to 56,531, with 133,642 others injured.

Israeli strike on seaside cafe kills dozens in Gaza City: witnesses

Israeli strike on seaside cafe kills dozens in Gaza City: witnesses

Israeli strike on seaside cafe kills dozens in Gaza City: witnesses

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight