Israeli warplanes targeted several floors of the Mashtaha Tower, destroying large parts of it and sending columns of smoke billowing around it. The same building had been bombed four times since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, resulting in the destruction of several of its residential apartments.
The tower's surroundings are densely populated areas, most notably the "Katiba Camp," which houses tens of thousands of displaced persons. Al-Azhar and Islamic Universities also house thousands of tents and tens of thousands of displaced persons from various parts of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, western Gaza has become a haven for nearly one million Palestinians, most of whom have been displaced from the east and north of the city.
The Israeli occupation army announced on Friday its intention to attack several buildings in Gaza City in the coming days, particularly multi-story residential towers, as a prelude to expanding its military operations. The army claimed in a statement that these buildings "have been transformed into Hamas infrastructure," including "observation rooms, sniper positions, command centers, and underground passageways," in addition to planting explosive devices in their vicinity.
He claimed to have conducted "extensive intelligence research" that detected intense Hamas activity in these buildings, asserting that underground infrastructure runs close to them and is used for ambushes and escape routes.
In the same context, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the deaths of three Palestinians within 24 hours due to systematic Israeli starvation, bringing the total to 376, including 134 children. The ministry stated that since the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared famine in Gaza, 98 deaths have been recorded, including 19 children.
Gaza hospital sources reported that 40 people were killed in Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip since dawn today. They said that 30 people were killed, including seven children, and more than 20 others were injured in simultaneous raids on residential apartments and tents housing displaced people in various parts of Gaza City at dawn today.
For their part, Al-Awda and Nasser hospitals reported the deaths of two starving people by Israeli forces' fire while trying to obtain food in the central and southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources also reported the deaths and injuries of several starving people in the Zikim area, northwest of Gaza City.
Katz vows to "open the gates of hell"
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said Friday that his government is "now opening the gates of hell on Gaza City," vowing not to close them.
"The gates of hell are now opening on Gaza, and the first evacuation notice was given to a high-rise building in Gaza City before the attack," Katz added in a statement.
Vowing to escalate, the Israeli Defense Minister said: "Once the door is opened, it will not be closed. The Israeli army's activity will increase until Hamas accepts Israel's conditions for ending the war (the Israeli genocide in Gaza), the most important of which is the release of all hostages and the disarmament of their weapons. Otherwise, they will be eliminated."
Katz had announced earlier on Friday that his government was "now opening the gates of hell on Gaza City," vowing not to close them. He added in a statement: "The gates of hell are now opening on Gaza, and the first evacuation notice was delivered to a high-rise building in Gaza City before the attack . "
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He vowed further military escalation "until Hamas accepts Israel's conditions, most notably the release of all hostages and the disarmament of its weapons, otherwise it will be eliminated," he said.
Katz's statements come despite the fact that Hamas agreed on August 18 to a proposal by mediators for a partial ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza. However, Israel did not respond to the mediators, despite the agreement's terms being identical to a previous US proposal approved by Tel Aviv.
On Wednesday, Hamas reiterated its readiness to conclude a comprehensive deal to release all Israeli prisoners in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, end the war on Gaza, and withdraw from the Strip. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also rejected this offer in a statement from his office.
700 days of genocide
On Friday, Hamas considered Israel's continued 700-day war of extermination in the Gaza Strip a "stain on humanity's brow," asserting that what is taking place constitutes "genocide, ethnic cleansing, and full-scale forced displacement."
Hamas said in a statement, "For 700 days, the world has been witnessing, in sound and image, the most horrific genocide in modern history, during which the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has violated all international laws and humanitarian norms designed to protect civilians in war."
She stressed that the genocide left tens of thousands dead and missing, most of them women and children, in addition to the destruction of cities in the Gaza Strip, "especially the brutal attack and destruction that Gaza City is subjected to."
She stressed that "the violations committed by the terrorist occupation army across the Gaza Strip constitute full-fledged acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement, which the occupation government openly declares and implements, in flagrant defiance of the international community and the foundations upon which the system of international values and laws is built."
The US administration was held responsible for "the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, due to its unilateral provision of political and military cover to the Zionist terrorist government, and its obstruction of UN institutions from their role in halting these crimes and holding their perpetrators accountable."
Hamas noted that it "offered all flexibility to reach an agreement to halt the aggression and exchange prisoners, but Netanyahu insists on thwarting the mediators' efforts and proceeding with his plans for genocide and displacement, even at the expense of the lives of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip." The movement called on the international community, the United Nations, and Arab and Islamic countries to take deterrent measures against Israel and halt its crimes.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The Israeli genocide left 64,231 Palestinians martyred, 161,583 wounded, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that killed 376 Palestinians, including 134 children.
