GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Gaza-based media office on Thursday said the Israeli army destroyed its building in Gaza City.

"We strongly condemn the shelling and destroying of the headquarters," it said in a statement, adding that Israel has killed at least 97 Palestinian journalists since the start of its attacks on the Gaza Strip in October.

It urged international press and rights bodies "to condemn the continued [Israeli] crimes against Palestinian journalism, civilians, children and women."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 52,586 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while nearly 130 hostages remain in captivity after others were returned during a temporary truce last month.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar