The Israeli military has demolished a second major high-rise in Gaza City, intensifying its ongoing offensive in the densely populated enclave.
Footage posted by Defence Minister Israel Katz on the social media platform X showed the Sussi Tower crumbling under Israeli bombardment. The video was accompanied by a caption declaring, “We’re continuing.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which has expanded its operations across Gaza in recent days, said the building was being used by Hamas — an accusation the group denies.
There were no immediate reports of casualties following the Saturday strike. Prior to the bombing, the Israeli military reportedly dropped leaflets urging residents to move south to what it refers to as a “humanitarian zone.”
Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, reiterated the call on social media, encouraging civilians to relocate to al-Mawasi, a coastal area situated between Khan Younis and the Mediterranean Sea. The military claims it is providing food, water, and medical care in the area.
However, the United Nations has described the conditions in al-Mawasi as dire, stating that the overcrowded tent camps there are unsafe, while hospitals in the south remain overwhelmed by the sheer volume of patients.
Tragically, five children were killed on Tuesday while queuing for water in al-Mawasi. Eyewitnesses said they were hit by an Israeli drone strike — an incident the IDF has said is currently under investigation.
Saturday’s attack on the Sussi Tower marked the second consecutive day that a major high-rise in Gaza City was destroyed. On Friday, social media footage captured the collapse of the Mushtaha Tower in the al-Rimal district following a large explosion at its base.
The IDF stated it had employed measures to reduce civilian harm, including advance warnings and the use of precision-guided munitions. But local Palestinians said many displaced families had been sheltering in the Mushtaha Tower. Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence agency, accused Israel of executing “a policy of forced displacement.”
Satellite images indicate that significant portions of Gaza City have been razed by Israeli bombardments and demolitions over the past month.
The now-leveled residential and commercial high-rises once symbolised the aspirations of post-Oslo Accords Gaza — a vision of statehood and recovery after the Israeli withdrawal from most of the territory in 1994.
The surge in vertical construction was aimed at housing tens of thousands of returnees, with entire neighbourhoods bearing the names of newly built towers. The Palestinian Authority had actively promoted large-scale investment in the construction sector during that period.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently announced that Israel plans to assume full control over the Gaza Strip, following the collapse of indirect ceasefire and hostage negotiations with Hamas in July.
The United Nations estimates that nearly one million civilians remain in Gaza City, which it recently declared to be in a state of famine. It has warned that continued military escalation could lead to an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel's campaign in Gaza was launched in retaliation for the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.
Since then, at least 63,746 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations, according to the health ministry administered by Hamas. The ministry also reports that 367 deaths have been caused by hunger and malnutrition during the ongoing conflict.
Source: BBC
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