Israel’s Ben-Gvir Celebrates Destruction of High-Rise Tower in Gaza City

Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has celebrated the destruction of a multi-storey residential tower in Gaza City by Israeli forces on Friday, as the military advanced deeper into the city amid plans to occupy it and forcibly displace one million people.

Ben-Gvir shared a video of the flattening of Mushtaha Tower on social media on Friday alongside an Israeli flag symbol and an emoji of a flexed bicep muscle.

🇮🇱💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/AUxXcleII8

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) September 5, 2025

The Israeli forces on Friday struck the Mushtaha Tower, a 12-storey building in Gaza City, and announced plans to destroy more high-rise buildings in densely populated residential areas.

The Israeli military claimed that it destroyed the Mushtaha Tower because it was used by Hamas, a claim denied by the Palestinian movement and frequently used by the military to justify its attacks.

“Hamas established infrastructure above and below the building, from which they would direct terrorist attacks against IDF troops in the area,” it added.

The management of Mashtaha Tower has dismissed what it called the “occupation’s lies”, confirming that the building contains no security equipment and is accessible only to displaced families.

Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened that the attacks in the blockaded strip will only escalate. “The bolt is now being removed from the gates of Hell in Gaza,” he said in a post on X. “Once the door is opened, it will not be closed, and IDF operations will intensify.”

He said the military had issued a forced evacuation order for the Mushtaha Tower, which had been attacked and partially destroyed by Israeli forces earlier in the war.

Shortly after, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said that the Israeli military will target several buildings in Gaza City over the coming days that he claims are being used by Hamas.

Israel’s strike on the tower has left behind a trail of destruction and led to significant casualties among civilians, a number of whom have been transferred to al-Shifa Hospital for urgent medical treatment.

The Israeli attacks and threats came as the military pushed deeper into Gaza City, forcing residents to flee amid intense bombardment as Israel approved plans to seize the City, despite international condemnation from the United Nations and states.

The plan reportedly involves forcing around one million residents southwards before surrounding the city and launching incursions into residential areas, followed by an expansion into refugee camps in central Gaza.

Critics and legal experts say that targeting high-rise buildings is a stark escalation of urban warfare that endangers the lives of hundreds of thousands of people taking refuge around them.

Israel has frequently failed to provide evidence to back up its claims that Hamas is using civilian buildings for military purposes.

It has a track record of conducting hits on residential buildings and towers located within the Gaza Strip, one of the world’s most densely populated areas.

These actions, referred to by the Israeli army as “precision strikes” targeting resistance groups, frequently occur in densely inhabited areas and have resulted in civilian casualties.

Gaza’s civil defence agency denounced Israel’s latest strike on the multistorey tower, saying targeting high-rise buildings is a policy of forced displacement.

“Entire families are thrown into the open without shelter with no safe spaces to go to,” it said, adding the destruction robs Palestinians of their “right to survive and live with dignity”.

The civil defence agency called on the international community to act immediately to halt what it described as an “organised crime”.

“How long will civilians remain without a safe place in this world?”