IDF says it will target multi-story buildings in Gaza City used by Hamas, as local media report strike

The IDF announces that in the coming days it will carry out targeted strikes against multi-story buildings in Gaza City that Hamas has converted into military infrastructure, confirming Defense Minister Israel Katz’s earlier comments.

Alongside that announcement, media outlets in Gaza report that the IDF struck the Al-Mushtaha tower in Gaza City three times. Footage shows a heavy cloud of smoke at the site, after residents were called to evacuate. It is unclear whether there were any casualties in the incident. The IDF has yet to comment on the strike.

According to the military’s announcement, intelligence has revealed that Hamas has embedded sniper and anti-tank positions, surveillance systems, command-and-control centers and observation posts inside residential buildings, while also planting explosives nearby to ambush Israeli forces. Additionally, the terror group’s tunnels are said to run beneath and around these buildings.

The IDF says these sites pose a direct threat to its troops as operations in Gaza City expand, and therefore will be struck soon.

The military stresses that it will issue warnings and employ precision strikes to reduce the risk to civilians, while again accusing Hamas of using Gaza’s civilian population as human shields.

The confirmation follows Katz’s declaration earlier today that the “gates of Hell” in Gaza are opening, signaling that the campaign to seize Gaza City is entering a new phase.

Yesterday, IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israeli forces now control roughly 40 percent of the city and intend to push further in the coming days as part of the broader plan to seize full control.