ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider World devider Israel strikes high-rise building as it sets sights on taking over Gaza City

Israel strikes high-rise building as it sets sights on taking over Gaza City

Published Sep 5, 2025 10:55 pm
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel struck a high-rise building in Gaza City on Friday after warning residents to evacuate, as the military stepped up operations aimed at seizing control of the city of some 1 million Palestinians that experts say is experiencing famine.
Displaced Palestinians fleeing from northern Gaza Strip move with their belongings along the Sea Road, in central Gaza, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Displaced Palestinians fleeing from northern Gaza Strip move with their belongings along the Sea Road, in central Gaza, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The military accused Hamas militants of using other high-rises in the city for surveillance and planned ambushes, and said it would carry out "precise, targeted strikes" on militant infrastructure in the coming days.
Israel has begun mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists and repeating evacuation warnings as part of its plan to widen its offensive, which has sparked opposition domestically and condemnation abroad.
Palestinians said Friday's strike targeted the Mushtaha tower in Rimal, an upscale neighborhood before the war. Gaza City resident Ahmed al-Boari said people fleeing Israeli operations elsewhere in the city had sought shelter in and around the building. Satellite imagery showed a large number of tents nearby.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was wounded or killed in the strike.
Israel said it struck the building because it was used by Hamas for surveillance. Photos of the building taken before Friday's strike showed that its roof was already heavily damaged from earlier raids.
Fears grow as Israeli forces advance
Israel has declared Gaza City, in the north of the territory, to be a combat zone. Parts of the city are already considered "red zones" where Palestinians have been ordered to evacuate ahead of expected heavy fighting.
That has left residents on edge, including many who returned after fleeing the city in the initial stages of the war, which has already displaced around 90% of the territory's population.
The offensive has also sparked widespread protests among Israelis who fear it will endanger hostages still held in Gaza, some of whom are believed to be in Gaza City. There are 48 hostages still held in Gaza, 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.
Hamas video shows hostages
Hamas released a propaganda video Friday of two hostages in Gaza City. The video shows Guy Gilboa-Dalal in a car, at one point joined by another hostage, Alon Ohel.
Gilboa-Dalal speaks, likely under duress, pleading for an end to the war and the return of hostages. He was last seen in a video more than six months ago with another hostage, Evyatar David, as they watched other hostages being released during a ceasefire.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in their attack on southern Israel that triggered the war on Oct. 7, 2023. Most have since been released in ceasefires or other agreements.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up around half the dead.
Israel says the war will continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed, and that it will retain open-ended security control of the territory of some 2 million Palestinians. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Related Tags

World news
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.