Gaza [Palestine], September 6: Hamas on Friday denounced the Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza City and accused Israel of seeking to forcibly displace civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The movement also denounced the expansion of military operations in Gaza City. It urged the international community to intervene and hold Israel accountable.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army destroyed a residential tower in western Gaza City, shortly after threatening to target residential towers that it said had been converted to "terrorist" infrastructure.
The Israeli army said it had issued warnings before the strike.
Local sources and eyewitnesses said the Israeli warplanes fired at least four missiles at the Mashtaha tower near the Ansar Roundabout.
The tower consists of approximately 14 residential floors and houses media, human rights, and administrative offices, as well as commercial shops, in addition to apartments inhabited by Palestinian families, according to the sources and eyewitnesses.
The administration of Mushtaha Tower on Friday rejected Israeli claims that the residential building was being used for military purposes, stressing that the tower has only been hosting displaced civilians since it was damaged last year.
In a press statement, the tower's administration said the site "is subject to strict supervision, and entry is allowed only for displaced civilians."
It added that the building is free of any cameras, security equipment, or weapons, and that "all its floors are open and exposed."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas's underground infrastructure runs close to some of the buildings in Gaza, enabling ambushes against IDF forces and providing potential escape routes from its headquarters.
The IDF added that Hamas had planted numerous explosive devices near several buildings, designed to be detonated remotely via surveillance equipment to target IDF forces as they approached.
Source: Xinhua
