Palestinian filmmaker and photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Baqa Café, a beachfront venue in western Gaza City, on June 30, 2025.
The 34-year-old Abu Hatab, founder of the Clight TV production company, was among dozens of people killed in the strike. Freelance journalist Bayan Abusultan was injured, struck by shrapnel in the chest and head.
Freelance photographer Majdi Fathi, who was near the area at the time, told CPJ that the strike occurred around 2:50 p.m. He said the café was a popular meeting spot for journalists and residents because of its internet access.
Hatab died from severe injuries to his head and back.
Abu Hatab had worked with various media organizations and curated photo exhibitions depicting daily life in Gaza. On November 2, 2023, he was seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike that hit his office on the 16th floor of Al-Ghifari Tower in Gaza City.
CPJ emailed the Israeli Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk to ask whether the journalists were deliberately targeted but did not receive a response.
Hatab was buried in Gaza on the same day he was killed.