Israel strikes landmark residential tower in southern Rafah as truce talks stall
- Residents of the 12-floor building, some 500 metres (1,600ft) from the border with Egypt, said Israel gave them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night
- No casualties were reported from the building attack, and Israel’s military said the block was being used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israelis
The 12-floor building was damaged in the strike, and residents said dozens of families were made homeless, though no casualties were reported. Israel’s military said the block was being used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israelis.
One of the 300 residents of the tower, which is located some 500 metres (1,600ft) from the border with Egypt, told Reuters Israel gave them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night.
“People were startled, running down the stairs, some fell, it was chaos. People left their belongings and money,” said Mohammad Al-Nabrees, adding that among those who tripped down the stairs during the panicked evacuation was a friend’s pregnant wife.
The strike raised alarm among residents of a wider Israeli assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering. Israel has said it plans to carry out operations in the area, which it has called Hamas’s last bastion.
But its pledge to do so only after civilians have evacuated has done little to quell international concern.
Five months into Israel’s unrelenting air and ground assault on Gaza, health authorities say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more bodies are feared buried under rubble.