GAZA CITY: Israeli forces destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City on Saturday following evacuation warnings to residents ahead of a planned military offensive.
This marked the second such demolition in consecutive days as Israel prepares for an assault on the territory’s largest urban centre.
The Israeli military has intensified airstrikes and ground operations around the city’s outskirts in recent weeks without specifying an exact timeline for the full-scale operation.
Witnesses and journalists reported thousands of evacuation leaflets dropped over western neighbourhoods urging civilians to relocate to designated safe zones.
Gaza resident Nafez Anis, currently sheltering in a tent with his family, stated he had no plans to evacuate despite reading the warnings.
The Gaza civil defence agency reported 55 Palestinian fatalities from Israeli fire during the day, including 18 near a northern aid distribution centre.
Israeli military officials requested specific coordinates and timeframes to investigate these casualty reports when contacted by media.
Military authorities confirmed striking a high-rise building allegedly used by Hamas for monitoring Israeli troop movements.
Witnesses identified the destroyed structure as the Sussi residential tower, approximately 15 storeys high.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz shared video footage showing the building collapsing into dust and smoke.
Hamas officials condemned the attack and denied using residential buildings for military purposes.
The Israeli military issued additional evacuation orders for another high-rise building on Saturday warning of imminent strikes.
Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged residents to move south to the Al-Mawasi coastal area designated as a humanitarian zone.
Israel previously declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone early in the conflict but has conducted repeated strikes there targeting Hamas operations.
Gaza City residents expressed skepticism about the safety of evacuation options given widespread bombing throughout the territory.
Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, a 48-year-old resident, noted that bombings and deaths occur everywhere in Gaza including the supposed safe zones.
His daughter Samia Mushtaha, 20, stated that death pursues Gazans through either bombing or hunger regardless of location.
Israel faces growing domestic and international pressure to end the nearly two-year conflict that began after Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Saturday demanding ceasefire agreements and hostage releases.
Protesters in Tel Aviv displayed a massive banner appealing to US President Trump to secure hostage releases immediately.
President Trump confirmed on Friday that the United States is engaged in deep negotiations with Hamas regarding captives in Gaza.
Hamas agreed last month to a temporary ceasefire proposal involving staggered hostage releases.
Israel demands simultaneous release of all hostages plus Hamas disarmament and relinquishment of Gaza control.
New US Central Command head Admiral Brad Cooper concluded his first visit to Israel since assuming command last month.
Militants originally took 251 hostages during the October 2023 attack with 47 reportedly remaining in Gaza including 25 presumed dead.
The United Nations estimates nearly one million people remain in and around Gaza City where famine was declared last month.
UN officials warn of catastrophic consequences if the planned Israeli assault proceeds under current conditions.
Hamas’s 2023 attack resulted in 1,219 fatalities according to AFP tallies of official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians according to Gaza Health Ministry figures deemed reliable by the UN.
Media restrictions and access difficulties prevent independent verification of casualty figures and incident details from either side. – AFP
