Arya News - Israel destroyed a large building in Gaza City as part of a wave of air strikes in retaliation for what it described as ceasefire violations by Hamas.
Israel destroyed a large building in Gaza City as part of a wave of air strikes in retaliation for what it described as ceasefire violations by Hamas .
Footage showed the four-storey structure collapse instantly, having been struck near its base by an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) guided bomb.
Before the strike, Israel issued its first civilian evacuation order since the ceasefire came into force in mid-October.
The decision to issue the order, which warned Palestinians to flee a specific area in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, reflects the steady increase in both the frequency and seriousness of alleged violations by the terror group and the IDF’s responses.
The wave of IDF air strikes is in retaliation for what it described as ceasefire violations by Hamas - Anadolu
Earlier in the week, an officer in the reserves was seriously wounded in a gunfight with terrorists near the “yellow line” that separates Hamas-controlled Gaza and the zone controlled by Israel, according to the IDF.
On Friday, the military said further shots were fired towards its soldiers operating in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Following the airstrikes, the IDF said a building used by Hamas to manufacture and store weapons had been hit.
It is not known if there were any casualties in that specific strike, but Palestinian media reported two Gazans killed by Israeli fire in neighbourhoods to the north of Gaza City.
Before the strike, Israel ordered civilians to evacuate the Gaza City neighbourhood - Anadolu
The violence highlights the lack of progress in the peace process.
Although Donald Trump announced that phase two of his plan had begun last month, it remains far from clear how Hamas will be disarmed, meaning that no reconstruction is currently taking place.
Israel is cooperating with the US plan, but military commanders believe they will have to return to war in order to root out the terror group, and it was reported this week that plans have been developed to do this.
The IDF is hoping that with no Israeli hostages forcing them to restrain their actions in the event of another war, they can finally defeat the terror group.
However, Hamas still has a formidable network of tunnels, stocks of weapons and cash, and supply of new recruits.
While the IDF attempts to kill alleged terrorists that engage or threaten its troops near the yellow line, they are now tending to concentrate their “response” to ceasefire violations on pre-selected targets that may not have been involved in the incident in question.
A spokesman said: “The IDF views with severity every violation of the ceasefire agreement and will operate against any attempt by the terror organisation in the Gaza Strip to carry out terror attacks against IDF troops and the civilians of the State of Israel.”
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