Israel destroys second high rise tower as IDF warns Gaza City residents to leave

Defending its strike, IDF said that the now destroyed Sussi Tower was being used by Hamas militants but the claim has been denied by the Gaza-based militant group.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: September 7, 2025 05:48 AM IST

2 min read

Palestinians run for cover during an Israeli airstrike on a high-rise building in Gaza City, after the Israeli army issued a prior warning. (AP)

The Israeli military has destroyed a high-rise block in Gaza City, a second major tower it has bombed in the past two days as it warned the residents of Palestine to leave for the South as its forces advance deeper in the region to capture the city.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the development as he posted a video of the building collapse on X and wrote, “We’re continuing.” Tel Aviv’s Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been continuing an offensive on the suburbs of the northern city for several weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to capture it.

Defending its strike, IDF said that the now destroyed Sussi Tower was being used by Hamas militants but the claim has been denied by the Gaza-based militant group. It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any casualties in the strike.

Ahead of its strike on Saturday, Israel’s military had dropped leaflets in the region asking Palestinians to leave the area for the south, which it calls a humanitarian zone.

Netanyahu believes that Gaza City is the hub of Hamas militants and it needs to be captured in order to defeat the Palestinian Islamist militants, whose October 2023 attack on Tel Aviv triggered the war in the region.

Even though the IDF has been asking Palestinians to move to al-Mawasi – an area between Khan Younis and the coastline, a United Nations report has stated that tents and camps in the al-Mawasi area are overcrowded and unsafe and the hospitals in the southern region are overwhelmed.

An Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a post on X that residents should leave Gaza City for al-Mawasi, a designated coastal area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Adraee said those moving to al-Mawasi would receive food, medical care and shelter as the designated area is a “humanitarian zone”.

However, reports have claimed that five children were killed while queuing for water in al-Mawasi on Tuesday.

(with inputs from BBC, Reuters)

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