Israel has bombed a third residential high-rise in Gaza City in as many days, as the military escalates attacks ahead of a threatened ground offensive. The Al-Roya Tower was hit on Sunday after an evacuation warning, witnesses confirmed. A Gaza City hospital reported one fatality from the strike.
The destruction follows the razing of the 15-storey Sousi Tower on Saturday, which Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, celebrated on social media with the words 'We continue'. On Friday, the Mushtaha Tower was also destroyed. Israel claims, without evidence, that Hamas had infrastructure in the buildings; Hamas denies the allegations.
Overnight air strikes into Sunday killed 14 people, including a strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians, local health officials said. The Gaza civil defence agency reported 56 Palestinian deaths on Saturday, including 19 near an aid distribution centre. The Israeli military said it would look into the reports.
Residents of the targeted towers described receiving only about 20 minutes' notice to flee. 'Suddenly, we were sitting at home and people started shouting,' said Aida Abu Kas, a resident of Sousi Tower. The attacks have fuelled unease in Gaza City, with tens of thousands already fleeing south. Some residents, however, distrust Israel's declared safe zones, noting past strikes in those areas.
Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, urged Hamas to lay down its arms. Hamas official Bassem Naim said the group would release all remaining hostages if Israel ended the war and withdrew from Gaza, but refused to disarm. Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, called on Israel to 'change course'.
