Israel ramps up offensive and destroys three high-rise buildings in Gaza city

The Israeli army on Sunday destroyed three high-rise buildings in Gaza city, as Israel ramps up its offensive there and orders Palestinians to leave.

"A short while ago, the IDF struck two high-rise buildings that were used by the Hamas terrorist organisation in the area of Gaza city," the military said in a statement. It said that Hamas militants "prepared to carry out attacks against" troops in the area of one of the buildings that was struck.

Earlier in the day, the army also destroyed the high-rise building of Al Kawthar in the city, which, it said, was used by Hamas militants. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X: "The 'Islamic' University in Gaza is going up in smoke. Eliminating the sources of incitement and terror," apparently referring to the buildings that were struck.

In recent days Israel has intensified strikes across Gaza city, destroying multiple high-rise buildings and accusing Hamas of putting surveillance equipment in them. Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called Hamas's last bastion.

The group's political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was attacked by Israel in an air strike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation. Aid agencies say an Israeli takeover of Gaza city would be catastrophic for a population already facing widespread famine.

Two more Palestinians have died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory's Health Ministry said on Sunday, taking deaths from such causes to at least 422 people, including 145 children.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip on Sunday have killed at least 45 people. The toll includes 32 people killed in Gaza city.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 more.

Israel’s retaliatory war has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says around half of those killed have been women and children.

Most parts of Gaza have been destroyed, and around 90 per cent of Gaza's population of approximately two million have been displaced.