The Israeli occupation army has escalated its air and artillery bombardment on several areas of Gaza City in recent hours, intensifying a campaign of destruction against residential towers and high-rise buildings. These strikes come as part of Israel’s declared military plans to reoccupy Gaza.
Israeli media reported on Monday evening that the army had launched a violent assault on Gaza City, beginning a wide-scale operation with diverse forms of firepower.
The Destruction of the Zaydia Residential Building
In the latest act of devastation, the occupation forces demolished the Zaydia residential building in the al-Labbabidi neighbourhood of western Gaza City. Witnesses confirmed that Israeli warplanes bombed the five-storey building after ordering residents and those nearby to evacuate. The warning lasted less than 20 minutes before the building was struck, leaving families in shock and unable to retrieve their basic belongings.
The powerful explosion shook the city and sent thick black smoke billowing between the remaining buildings. The Zaydia building had been surrounded by displaced families living in tents, and its destruction caused extensive damage to the tents around it, including those near the Palestine Stadium displacement camp.
Gaza’s Tallest Tower Destroyed
Since Monday morning, the occupation army has demolished several major residential structures, most notably the al-Ghafri Tower—the tallest building in Gaza City, standing at 20 storeys and housing hundreds of Palestinian families. The tower also contained offices of media outlets, production companies, and commercial businesses, making its destruction a direct attack on both civilian life and Gaza’s press infrastructure.
Systematic Targeting of Residential Towers
Over the past weeks, Israel has intensified its deliberate targeting of Gaza’s high-rise residential towers. Palestinian officials affirm that this policy aims to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza City toward the south of the besieged Strip, creating another wave of mass displacement.
This destruction follows the Israeli government’s approval on August 8 of a plan put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to gradually reoccupy the Gaza Strip, beginning with Gaza City.
Expansion of Israel’s Ground Offensive
The occupation army launched its assault on August 11 in the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood (southeast Gaza City), using booby-trapped robots, heavy artillery, random gunfire, and forced evacuations. In the following weeks, Israel expanded its airstrikes and demolition campaigns southward into al-Sabra, before moving into northern districts and later the west of the city.
From that date until Saturday evening, Israeli forces had completely or severely destroyed more than 3,600 buildings and towers in Gaza City, while also demolishing around 13,000 tents sheltering displaced families, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
Genocide in Gaza Since October 7
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation—backed by the United States—has carried out an ongoing genocide in Gaza. This campaign includes mass killing, starvation, destruction of infrastructure, and forced displacement, in defiance of international appeals and International Court of Justice rulings demanding an end to the atrocities.
The genocide has left 64,905 Palestinians martyred and 164,926 wounded, the majority of them women and children. In addition, famine conditions have claimed the lives of 425 Palestinians, including 145 children.
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