The Israeli military struck multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza City on Sunday, after warning people to leave several neighborhoods, in the latest round of destruction since Israel ordered a complete evacuation of the city earlier this week.
Israel’s assault on Gaza City appeared to be accelerating, with the military issuing evacuation orders for several towers in Gaza City within just a few hours Sunday morning.
The strikes came ahead of a meeting called by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss efforts to avoid harming the hostages still held in Gaza when the Israeli military undertakes a ground operation planned to take control of Gaza City, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The meeting will be attended by the Israeli foreign and defense ministers as well as the leadership of the Israeli military and security services, the source said. There are thought to be about 20 hostages still alive in the enclave, some of whom are believed to be in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in the region on Sunday, arriving in Tel Aviv in the morning, then visiting the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem in the afternoon.
Among the buildings struck Sunday was Al Kawthar Tower near Gaza’s port. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was being used by Hamas to observe the movements of Israeli troops in the area. It said that before the strike, “steps were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians, including advanced warnings to the population, the use of precise munitions (and) aerial surveillance.”
Al Kawthar – an 11-story building – is one of several high-rises that have been destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli strikes since the IDF extended operations into Gaza City earlier this month and ordered nearly a million people in the area to head south.
Displaced Palestinians evacuating southbound from Gaza City travel along a coastal road in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday. – Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images
Hours later, after another warning was posted on X by the Israeli military, a multi-story building in Gaza City was struck but not demolished. The high-rise, known as al Mohna Tower, is in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.
Another building at the Islamic University in Gaza was struck and destroyed by several missiles, according to images and video from the scene. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz posted a video of the strikes targeting the six-story building on X, saying: “The ‘Islamic’ University in Gaza is going up in smoke. Eliminating the sources of incitement and terrorism.”
At least 74 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Saturday, hospital officials said, with more than 50 of those killed in Gaza City.
Al Shati camp in Gaza City was targeted late Saturday, as Israeli strikes intensified. Videos of the aftermath show a large fire had broken out in an area where people were sheltering.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been left homeless after the Israeli military intensified its action in the city over the past week, the Gaza Civil Defense said in a statement on Thursday. Israeli forces have destroyed more than 130 residential buildings in the enclave’s largest city over the same period, according to Civil Defense.
CNN has recorded the destruction of at least a dozen high-rise buildings in central Gaza since September 5.
The Palestinian health ministry said Sunday that 64,871 people had been killed in Gaza since Israeli military operations began after Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023 – and 164,610 had been injured.
Israel’s escalating assault on Gaza City came as Rubio arrived in the country for discussions about the war and the hostages. On Sunday, he visited the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem with Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
Rubio is scheduled to officially meet Netanyahu on Monday. The Israeli leader is expected to raise his government’s potential West Bank annexation plans with Rubio, according to three Israeli sources.
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