It is the latest in a series of attacks on tower blocks in recent days as the Israeli military intensify their bid to occupy Gaza City.
The latest video shows the moment an Israeli airstrike targets a building known as al-Ghafri Tower.It shows two projectiles striking the base of the tower in quick succession before the building collapses into rising plumes of smoke.
Three screenshots from the video showing the two projectiles and then the building collapsingThe IDF published an evacuation notice, external for the area around the building just over an hour before it was destroyed.
In a post on social media, external after the strike, the Israeli military said the building was “used by the terrorist organization Hamas”, but did not provide any evidence to support the claim.
The latest images show large numbers of tents have disappeared from Gaza City since 9 September, as shown below. This comes after repeated Israeli evacuation orders and intense bombardment of the city as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue their offensive.
Comparing satellite images from 5 and 12 September of central Gaza reveals large numbers of new tents have been erected in areas within the IDF designated “humanitarian zone”, showing an influx of displaced people into the area.
Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gave four evacuation notices for prominent high-rise buildings. All four were later destroyed and we have verified the footage.
The picture below is from a video showing the moment one of the buildings, Al-Kawthar Tower, was bombed. The IDF has been targeting tall buildings across Gaza City for more than a week now, but it’s not just the multi-storeys highlighted on social media being hit.
Many of the videos we’ve verified show the destruction of other buildings, as well as vehicles.
On Friday the IDF said its airstrikes had targeted “over 500 objectives”, external in Gaza City.
It said it was destroying “towers converted into military infrastructure” as well as “reconnaissance and sniper positions, buildings containing operational tunnel openings, weapons warehouses, and other terrorist infrastructure”.
It did not provide any evidence to support these claims.
Meanwhile, thousands of displaced people are leaving Gaza and heading south, where new encampments are being set up.
We’ll bring you more on all of this throughout the day, and we’ll continue to monitor for new developments.