GAZA CITY – An Israeli airstrike has flattened a high-rise building in Gaza City, the second such attack in as many days, as the military presses ahead with a planned offensive to capture the territory’s largest urban center. The strike occurred after the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) issued warnings for residents to evacuate and move south to a designated “humanitarian zone.”
The IDF claimed the targeted building, identified by witnesses as the Sussi residential tower, was being used by Hamas for intelligence gathering and as an observation post. A video shared by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz showed the 15-storey structure collapsing, with Katz stating, “We’re continuing.”
Despite the IDF’s call for residents to relocate to Al-Mawasi along the southern coast, many residents expressed profound skepticism. Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, a 48-year-old resident, stated that “everywhere in Gaza there are bombings and deaths,” and noted that the so-called humanitarian zone has been the site of previous attacks. His daughter, Samia, added, “Wherever we go, death pursues us, whether by bombing or hunger.”
The escalation comes as Israel faces mounting domestic and international pressure to end the nearly two-year war. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump stated that the United States is in “very deep negotiation with Hamas” for a complete release of all hostages. The militants took 251 hostages during the October 2023 attack, with the Israeli military claiming 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.
The UN estimates nearly one million people remain in and around Gaza City, where a famine was declared last month. The organization has warned of a “disaster” if Israel’s attack on the city proceeds. According to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, at least 64,368 Palestinians have been killed, while the Hamas attack in 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people in Israel.
