Israel destroys second high-rise as assault on Gaza City intensifies

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has urged Palestinians to evacuate Gaza City, relocating to what it calls a humanitarian zone in the south as it continues its military offensive in the territory.

On Saturday, for a second day running, the Israeli military destroyed a high-rise block, the Sussi Tower, in the enclave’s largest urban area.

Defence Minister Israel Katz posted video of the building collapsing on X, captioned “We’re continuing”. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties.

Israel said the tower was being used by Hamas, and that its military had taken measures to mitigate harm to civilians. Hamas denies it was using the tower.

It comes as Israel expands its military operation in Gaza.

Ahead of the attack on Sussi Tower, the Israeli air force had dropped leaflets ordering residents to leave.

In a social media post, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee urged them to “join the thousands of people who have already gone” to al-Mawasi – an area between Khan Younis and the coastline in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The IDF has repeatedly encouraged civilians to move there, saying medical care, water and food will be provided.

However, the UN has said the tent camps in al-Mawasi are overcrowded and unsafe, and that southern hospitals are overwhelmed.

On Tuesday, five children were killed while queuing for water in al-Mawasi. Witnesses said they were struck by an Israeli drone, an incident which the IDF said was “under review”.

The Sussi Tower is the second high-rise to be destroyed in as many days. On Friday social-media footage showed the Mushtaha Tower, in the city’s al-Rimal neighbourhood, collapsing after a massive explosion at its base.

The IDF said precautionary measures had been taken, “including advance warnings to the population” and the use of “precise munitions”.

But Palestinians said displaced families had been sheltering in the building, and Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal accused Israel of enacting “a policy of forced displacement”.

Satellite imagery shows several neighbourhoods in parts of the city have been levelled by Israeli strikes and demolitions over the past month.

The residential and commercial tower blocks in Gaza City represented an important chapter in the city’s history, tied to hopes of ending the Israeli occupation and building an independent Palestinian state.

The rise of multi-storey towers – more than five floors – began after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, which allowed tens of thousands of Palestinians to return from exile to Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

Following the Israeli withdrawal from most of Gaza in 1994, vertical expansion became a necessity to accommodate the influx of returnees.

The Palestinian Authority encouraged large investments in the construction sector, with entire neighbourhoods named after the towers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel’s intention to seize all of the Gaza Strip after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal broke down in July.

The UN estimates nearly one million people remain in Gaza City, where it declared a famine last month. It has warned of an imminent “disaster” if the assault proceeds.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 63,746 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The ministry also says 367 people have so far died during the war as a result of malnutrition and starvation.

Additional reporting by Ruth Comerford