A high-rise building that housed international media offices including al-Jazeera satellite channel and The Associated Press (AP) offices in the embattled Gaza Strip was bombed and flattened in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday afternoon.
Live al-Jazeera video footage showed the 12-story “al-Jalaa” building which also housed a number of residences and other offices of doctors and lawyers crashing to the ground after being bombed as dust and debris flew into the air.
There was no immediate information about casualties in the attack.
Since the start of the Israeli aggression against Gaza scores of tall buildings have been demolished in aerial attacks sometimes after warning phone calls or missile “taps” by the Israeli occupation army.
A statement from al-Jazeera condemned the strike calling on “all media and human right institutions to join forces” in denouncing the bombing and to “hold the government of Israel accountable.”
“Al Jazeera condemns in the strongest terms the bombing and destruction of its offices by the Israeli military in Gaza and views this as a clear act to stop journalists from conducting their sacred duty to inform the world and report events on the ground” the statement read.
Earlier in the morning Israeli warplanes bombed and flattened one apartment building five homes public facilities and several fishing boats.
According to Quds Press morning air raids destroyed an apartment building known as “al-Rawda 2” in Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in the southwest of Gaza City a house in al-Shejaiya neighborhood in the east of the City another one belonging to ex-detainee Hasan al-Maqadmeh in al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Other airstrikes targeted and reduced to rubble three civilian homes in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza and in the west and east of Khan Yunis.
A small beach club and empty swaths of land in the west of Khan Yunis southern Gaza were also bombed in air raids.
Meanwhile Israeli gunboats bombarded and destroyed a large number of fishing boats on Gaza Beach in the morning.
At dawn Saturday a sudden air attack reduced to rubble a three-story civilian house in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp killing eight children and two women from the same family.
Israel’s massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip has entered its sixth consecutive day claiming the lives of 140 civilians including 39 children and 22 women and wounding around 1000 others many seriously.
As Israel’s aggression escalates the humanitarian crisis worsens steadily with thousands of Palestinian families taking shelter in UN-run schools in Gaza to escape aerial and artillery fire.
