By Hosni Nedim and Rania Abu Shamala
GAZA CITY, Palestine/ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli warplanes destroyed two residential high-rise buildings in Gaza City on Monday, displacing hundreds of Palestinians.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that warplanes leveled Al-Salam Tower on Omar Al-Mukhtar Street in central Gaza with three missiles shortly after warning Palestinians to evacuate, despite the presence of dozens of tents and large camps sheltering hundreds of displaced people around it.
They said residents of the high-rise rushed to evacuate in fear of the bombing, leaving their belongings behind, while some threw items from the upper floors.
They added that the Israeli warning also led to the displacement of people from an adjacent camp of cancer patients, sparking panic among sick children and their families.
The destruction of Al-Salam Tower came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that his army had demolished 50 residential buildings in Gaza City in just two days, vowing further demolitions and pressing ahead with displacement plans.
Earlier Monday, the Israeli army also destroyed Al-Ruya Tower, a multi-story building housing hundreds of Palestinians in western Gaza City, shortly after ordering its residents and displaced people in the vicinity to evacuate.
On Friday, the Israeli army began to bomb multi-story buildings sheltering hundreds of displaced civilians in Gaza City as Tel Aviv pressed ahead with a plan to occupy the entire city.
Israel has killed more than 64,500 Palestinians in a brutal offensive in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and pushed the entire population into famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for 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.