UPDATE 2 - Israel bombs residential building housing hundreds of displaced Palestinians in Gaza City

UPDATES WITH HAMAS STATEMENT, REVISES HEADLINE, ADDS DECK

By Ramzi Mahmud, Ikram Kouachi and Rania Abu Shamala

GAZA CITY, Palestine / ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - The Israeli military on Friday struck a residential building in western Gaza City that houses hundreds of displaced Palestinians in a densely populated area that shelters tens of thousands of civilians.

The targeted building, known as Mushtaha Tower, was hit on several floors, causing extensive damage, while plumes of smoke were seen rising over the area, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

According to local sources, the military has bombed the same building four times since the start of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, destroying multiple apartments.

Adjacent to the site is the Kteiba Camp, one of Gaza City’s largest displacement camps, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Nearby Al-Azhar and Islamic University campuses also shelter thousands of tents and tens of thousands of displaced persons.

The western Gaza area as a whole now accommodates roughly 1 million displaced residents, mostly from the east and northern parts of the city and northern Gaza.

The management of Mushtaha Tower rejected the Israeli allegations.

“The building is free of any military or security installations and serves solely as shelter for displaced Palestinians,” it said in a statement.

“All floors were open and exposed, containing no light or heavy weapons,” it added.

Meanwhile, local residents expressed shock at the Israeli claims.

Obadah Saifuddin, a Mushtaha Tower resident, told Anadolu: “I no longer have a home. What is our crime that the Israeli army destroys our houses in front of our eyes?”

Nidal Abu Ali, another resident, said: “I sought refuge in the tower with my family to protect my children, but Israel has left no safe place in Gaza.”

- Israeli escalation

The Israeli army announced plans to target multiple multi-story buildings in Gaza over the coming days, accompanied by evacuation orders for residents in affected areas.

Army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that intelligence indicated Hamas had “integrated military infrastructure” inside these buildings.

Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Israeli Air Force had begun a gradual operation to destroy these buildings across Gaza, marking an expansion of military operations in the city.

Israeli forces also dropped leaflets over the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, urging residents to evacuate blocks 699, 700, 712, 713, 716, and 764, saying the army “continues to expand its operations westward. Move south from Gaza City immediately.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz further said an initial evacuation notice had been issued to a multi-story building in Gaza, warning that military activity would intensify unless Hamas met conditions, including the release of hostages and disarmament.

- Crime against humanity

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas, for its part, denounced Katz’s move to escalate military operations as “an unprecedented challenge to international laws and humanitarian norms.”

“It constitutes a public admission of criminal intentions to destroy a populated city and coerce its civilians under threats and brutal massacres, while committing acts of genocide, destroying neighborhoods, and forcibly displacing its residents,” Hamas said in a statement.

“The targeting of residential towers, crowded with residents and displaced people, by the fascist occupation army is part of its criminal attempts to pressure the city's residents into forced displacement – a policy that amounts to a crime against humanity.”

On Aug. 18, the Palestinian resistance group Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. While Israel has not responded to the proposal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave orders to proceed with a plan to occupy Gaza City.

Tel Aviv estimates that nearly 50 Israeli hostages are still held in Gaza, including 20 alive. Meanwhile, there are more than 10,400 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, suffering from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has resulted in many deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

The ongoing genocide in Gaza entered its 700th day on Friday, with Israel having killed more than 64,000 Palestinians. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.