Israel hits Gaza City campus as military orders fresh evacuations

The Israeli army destroyed another building from the Islamic University of Gaza City on Sunday, saying that Hamas had used the installation to monitor Israeli soldiers and plan attacks.

Videos published by the Israeli and Palestinian media have shown that the building was struck and collapsed, and the army confirmed the attack. Complaints could not be checked independently.

According to the Palestinians, displaced Gazans had sheltered on the field of the university, which was targeted several times during the war of almost two years.

The Israeli army had issued a new evacuation order for certain parts of the Rimal district of Gaza City and the port area, urging civilians to immediately move to the “humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi further south.

Israeli forces also struck the residential tower of Al-Kawthar, saying that Hamas activists had installed information collection equipment and observation stations there. The allegation could not be confirmed independently. The video sequences have shown the high -rise collapse.

Israel has flattened dozens of skyscrapers in Gaza City, saying that the Palestinian militant group Hamas uses residential towers for military purposes.

The Israeli media reported that around 280,000 people had fled Gaza City, which formerly houses around 1 million residents. The media office managed by Hamas has put the figure at around 350,000. Many civilians remain reluctant to move to designated safe areas, citing Israeli attacks in such areas.

Israeli officials said the air strikes were among the preparations for a deeper offensive on the ground aimed at dismantling Hamas units that are based in Gaza City.

But the conservative daily Israel Hayom reported significant resistance in the best ranks of the army to the planned assault on Sunday. High officials have warned that, in particular after the recent attack in Qatar, Israel could endanger its national security “in an unprecedented way”.

Security officials wondered if the operation could achieve its declared objective of destroying Hamas, warning it that it could last for months, compromises the life of the remaining hostages, provoking strong Israeli military losses and isolate Israel more international due to images of destruction and civil victims emerging from Gaza.

The Gaza War was launched by the attack on Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 kidnapped. Israel says that 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of them who are alive.

The health authority managed by Hamas in Gaza claims that more than 64,800 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. The count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but the figures are considered to be widely credible by the United Nations.

Large parts of the densely populated territory have been devastated by Israeli bombings. Critics accuse Israel of war crimes and, in some cases – including the Spanish government – of genocide. Israel insists that he acts in self-defense.