Israel Pounds Gaza Residential Tower Sheltering Hundreds of Displaced Families
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Israeli regime on Friday bombed Mushtaha Tower, a residential high-rise in western Gaza City that housed hundreds of displaced Palestinians, in yet another strike against civilians crammed into one of the most overcrowded parts of the besieged enclave.
Several floors of the tower were destroyed, leaving massive damage and plumes of smoke rising over the city, eyewitnesses said.
The building’s management rejected Tel Aviv’s false claims of targeting “military infrastructure,” stressing the tower contained only families who had lost their homes to earlier Israeli raids.
“All floors were open and exposed, containing no weapons. It served solely as a shelter for displaced Palestinians,” the management said in a statement.
Local residents, who have endured repeated Israeli bombings since the start of the genocide on Oct. 7, 2023, voiced outrage.
“I no longer have a home. What is our crime that the Israeli army destroys our houses in front of our eyes?” asked resident Obadah Saifuddin.
Another man, Nidal Abu Ali, said: “I sought refuge in the tower with my family to protect my children, but Israel has left no safe place in Gaza.”
The tower stands beside Kteiba Camp, one of Gaza City’s largest displacement sites, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Nearby campuses of Al-Azhar and the Islamic University are also covered with tents for the displaced.
Western Gaza now shelters roughly 1 million people expelled from the city’s east and north by Israel’s relentless assault.
The Israeli military announced plans to expand its campaign against Gaza’s multi-story buildings, threatening further destruction and dropping evacuation leaflets over neighborhoods in Gaza City.
Army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed, without evidence, that Hamas had built “military infrastructure” inside residential blocks.
Channel 12 reported that the air force had launched a new wave of demolition operations.
War Minister Israel Katz threatened harsher strikes unless resistance groups disarmed and hostages were released.
Hamas condemned the threats as a blatant confession of criminal intent.
“It constitutes a public admission of plans to destroy a populated city and commit massacres, while carrying out genocide and forced displacement,” the group said.
“The targeting of residential towers, crowded with displaced families, is a crime against humanity.”
The bombardment comes despite Hamas having accepted an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal on Aug. 18.
Israel ignored the deal, with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu instead ordering preparations for the occupation of Gaza City.
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv insists on captives still held in Gaza, though it imprisons more than 10,400 Palestinians, many subjected to torture, starvation, and medical neglect.
The genocide, now in its 700th day, has left over 64,000 Palestinians dead and pushed the enclave to the brink of famine.
International courts have moved against Israel’s leaders.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former war minister Yoav Gallant last November for war crimes.
Separately, Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its onslaught against Gaza.
