Israel’s demolition of Gaza high-rise towers aims to force mass displacement, Palestine warns

RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned Israel’s destruction of high-rise apartment blocks in Gaza City, saying the attacks are aimed at forcing residents from their homes or trapping them in deadly conditions.

The statement came after Israeli warplanes flattened the 15-story Al-Sousi Tower in western Gaza City, which housed more than 60 apartments, only a day after the Mushtaha Tower was brought down in the same area. Both strikes came with short evacuation orders that left families scrambling to escape.

The ministry said Israel’s escalating attacks reflect a systematic plan to empty the city of nearly one million people, already displaced multiple times since the war began. It warned that Palestinians face a stark choice: “forced exile or certain death through bombing and starvation.”

According to the ministry, Israel’s strategy is to confine more than 2 million Palestinians into a sliver of land amounting to just 12% of the enclave, creating unlivable conditions as a prelude to mass expulsion.

It urged regional and international actors to uphold the Palestinian and Arab consensus on postwar arrangements for Gaza to guarantee protection for civilians and prevent further displacement.

Saturday’s strikes also targeted nearby residential blocks, with Israeli forces warning of attacks on the Al-Roya and Al-Khayyam complexes. The demolitions followed the army’s announcement earlier in the day that it was expanding ground operations in Gaza City to occupy the city.

On Wednesday, the army formally declared its goal to seize the entire city after more than three weeks of bombardment, a move that has drawn criticism inside Israel over the risks to soldiers and captives.

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “the gates of hell are opening on Gaza” as the operation intensified.

Human Rights Watch reported last month that Israel has destroyed nearly 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure since October 2023, including homes, schools and public services, leaving most displaced families with nowhere to shelter except overcrowded classrooms and damaged university buildings.

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 64,300 Palestinians since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 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.