Israeli forces have been carrying out an offensive on the suburbs of the northern city for weeks after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to capture it.
Netanyahu says Gaza city itself is a Hamas stronghold, and capturing it is necessary.
The assault threatens to displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering there after nearly two years of fighting. Before the war, around a million people — nearly half of Gaza’s population — lived in the city.
Israel said the building was being used by Hamas, but provided no evidence
Israeli military said residents should leave the city for a “designated coastal area” in southern Gaza, assuring those fleeing that they would get food, medical care and shelter there. The designated area was a “humanitarian zone”.
The military also issued so-called “evacuation warnings” to civilians in certain areas of the city, warning it was about to carry out attacks.
The al-Soussi tower collapses after an Israeli strike yesterday. Photo: Reuters
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The military later bombed a high-rise Gaza city tower that it said was being used by Hamas, without providing evidence to support the assertion. It said civilians were warned in advance.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz shared a video online of a multi-storey building collapsing after the strike, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.
Palestinians gather their things after yesterday’s Israeli air strike. Photo: Reuters
The Israeli military said Hamas used the building to gather intelligence and that explosive devices had been planted nearby. Palestinians said it had been used to shelter the displaced.
“These towers are strictly monitored, entry is permitted exclusively for civilians,” Hamas said in a statement, adding the Israeli allegations constitute “a systematic forced displacement” plan.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 40 people across the Gaza enclave yesterday, at least half of them in Gaza city.
The Israeli military bombed another high-rise tower on Friday, again saying that it had been used by Hamas.
On Thursday, the military said it had control over almost half of Gaza city. It says it controls about 75pc of all of Gaza.
Many of those now in Gaza city were displaced earlier in the war but later returned. Some residents have said that they refuse to be displaced again.
The Israelis have been striking on the city for weeks, advancing through outer suburbs, and last week the IDF were within a few kilometres of the city centre.
The high-rise that Israel hit on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Netanyahu, backed by his right-wing coalition allies, ordered the capture of Gaza city against the advice of Israel’s military leadership, according to Israeli officials.
Despite its hesitation, the military has called up tens of thousands of reservists to support the operation.
The war in Gaza has left Israel diplomatically isolated, with some of its closest allies condemning the campaign that has devastated the tiny country of Palestine.
There are also growing calls within Israel, led by families of hostages and their supporters, to end the war in a diplomatic deal that would secure the release of the remaining 48 captives.
Israel believes 20 hostages are alive.
Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all the hostages released and Hamas surrendering.
Hamas has offered to release some hostages for a temporary ceasefire, similar to terms that were discussed in July before negotiations mediated by the US and Arab states collapsed.
US president Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington was in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but today controls only parts of the enclave, has long said it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and to withdraw all its forces from Gaza.