Conflict & Security
Gaza health officials say Israeli port strike kills six
Gaza health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed six people at Gaza City's port on Tuesday and wounded more than a dozen others. The Israeli army said it targeted several Hamas commanders.
Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, told AFP that at least six people were killed, including a child, and that many people were wounded in an Israeli raid on tents of displaced people in the port.
Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said it received five bodies and 13 injured people, one of whom died later in the evening.
Eyewitness Mohammed Alghoul told AFP that Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at the Sweet and Bitter cafe at the fishermen's port west of Gaza City.
The Israeli army said it carried out a “precise aerial strike” against “several Hamas commanders” who it said had planned attacks against Israeli troops operating in the Gaza Strip. It said steps were taken to reduce harm to civilians.
Israeli media reported that the army has curbed operations in Gaza in recent days under US pressure and has been carrying out strikes only to remove imminent threats to its troops or to eliminate people who participated in the October 7, 2023 attack against Israel.
The strike came a day after White House envoy Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reiterated his position that an Israeli army withdrawal would take place only after Hamas is fully disarmed. Hamas, whose leader Khalil al-Hayya met Kushner on Sunday, has said it is committed to the US-sponsored peace plan and has demanded that Washington pressure Netanyahu to adhere to it.
Update
Gaza health officials said the death toll from the Israeli strike at Gaza City's port rose to six.
Gaza's civil defence agency said a child was among those killed and that tents of displaced people were hit.
Al-Shifa hospital said it received five bodies and 13 injured people, one of whom died later in the evening.
An eyewitness told AFP that Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at the Sweet and Bitter cafe at the fishermen's port.
The Israeli army said it targeted several Hamas commanders who planned attacks against Israeli troops and said steps were taken to reduce harm to civilians.
Source note: AFP news report published on 18 August 2026 at 16:21:51 UTC.
Update
Gaza health officials said a dozen more people were wounded.
The Israeli military said it struck a target on the Gaza coast to hit several Hamas commanders.
The Israeli military described the strike as a precise aerial strike to remove a threat.
Source note: AFP news report published on 18 August 2026 at 15:53:56 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source material does not independently verify whether Hamas commanders were present at the strike site.
Civilian and combatant status among those killed and wounded was not fully established in the supplied information.
Source
AFP news report published on .