Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike on Al-Baqa cafeteria - Mahmoud Issa

More than 40 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a seafront Gaza café on Monday, the head of the enclave’s largest hospital said.

Rescue teams were filmed carrying injured people and bodies away from the Al-Baqa Cafeteria near Gaza City’s port in the aftermath of the attack. Thick smoke was seen rising from the scene, as well as widespread damage to the café and surrounding areas.

Speaking to CNN, Dr Mohammad Abu Silmiya, from the Al-Shifa hospital, said at least 41 people had been killed and 75 injured.

Fares Awad, head of the strip’s Hamas-run health ministry’s emergency and ambulance service, said many of the wounded were in critical condition.

A Palestinian man inspects the damage at Al-Baqa cafeteria - OMAR AL-QATTAA

The attack was reportedly carried out with a missile fired from an Israeli warplane. The Israeli military said it was looking into the circumstances around the strike.

The Al-Baqa cafe was a popular gathering spot for journalists, students and remote workers, and one of the few places left with regular internet access and electricity to charge phones.

An Israeli outlet reported that the target of the strike was Hasham Mansour, the son of a former Hamas military commander killed by Israel several months ago. It added that Mansour and 33 Gazans were killed in the attack.

Al-Shifa Hospital said that two other strikes on Gaza City killed 15 people on Monday.

The attacks came after Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic spokesman, warned of extensive strikes to come across Gaza City and other areas and said the military was “operating with extreme force”.

Palestinians mourn as they the bodies of friends and relatives killed in an Israeli strike on Al-Baqa cafeteria - OMAR AL-QATTAA

Benjamin Netanyahu is under increasing pressure at home and abroad to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and bring home the remaining hostages held in the enclave.

In a social media post on Saturday, Donald Trump said the Israeli prime minister was working on negotiating a deal with Hamas “right now”.

It came days after a senior Hamas official said mediators were intensifying efforts to reach a new deal, but that negotiations remain stalled.

Ron Dermer, the Israeli strategic affairs minister, is in Washington DC on Monday for high-level meetings about a final deal for Gaza, before mediated talks between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume.

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