Israeli forces bombed a 13-story apartment building in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on May 11, 2021. Israeli troops reportedly warned residents before the attack. (Photo: Mustafa Hassona/Andalou Agency via Getty Images)
Israel Condemned for 'Unambiguous War Crime' After Destroying Gaza Apartment Tower
Resistance fighters retaliated with a barrage of rockets as the death toll during the current conflagration rose to over 30 people—almost all of them Palestinians.
Israel's military faced war crime accusations Tuesday after carrying out an airstrike that completely destroyed a high-rise apartment building in densely populated Gaza City, prompting a massive barrage of retaliatory rocket fire as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to further escalate violence that has already left over 30 people--almost all of them Palestinians--dead.
Israeli media and a United Nations official report residents of the 13-story apartment building in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City were repeatedly warned--including by telephone and a "roof-knocking" airstrike--of the impending attack, which occurred around 8:30 pm local time.
Video of the Israeli strike shows multiple explosions followed by the tower's collapse. International observers promptly noted that the deliberate destruction of homes when not "imperatively demanded by the necessities of war" is a war crime.
Dozens of Palestinian families were left without homes following the attack. It was not immediately clear if the building was completely evacuated, or if there were any casualties from the strike.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials said the building--which contained 80 apartments--housed an office used by senior political officials of Hamas, the democratically elected leaders of Gaza.
"We expect that this powerful attack on the high-rise building, which shook all of Gaza, will lead to extensive shooting toward Israel," an IDF spokesperson correctly predicted.
Within 15 minutes of the tower's destruction, the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad announced it would retaliate with rockets aimed at Tel Aviv. Hamas said it fired more than 130 rockets into Israel in response to the Gaza tower attack. Indiscriminate rocket attacks against civilian areas are also considered war crimes under international law.
Social media news feeds soon filled with videos of the U.S.-Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system intercepting a hail of incoming rockets. However, not all of the inbound projectiles were destroyed, with IDF officials blaming some of the rocket strikes in Ashkelon on a temporarily malfunctioning Iron Dome battery.
Homes, a bus, an empty school, and other structures were hit in numerous locations in Israel, resulting in at least one death and numerous injuries. A 50-year-old Israeli woman was reportedly killed when a rocket struck her home in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Leziyon at around 9:30 pm local time, bringing the total number of Israelis killed during what Palestinian militants are calling the "Jerusalem Sword" campaign to two.
The other Israeli victim, an 80-year-old woman, was killed along with her Indian caretaker when a rocket struck an apartment building in Ashkelon earlier on Tuesday.
Israeli forces have reportedly killed at least 30 Palestinians, including 10 children, in what the IDF has dubbed "Operation Guardian of the Walls." Amid the escalating bloodshed, Netanyahu vowed that Israel would "increase both the intensity of the attacks and the rate of attacks."
The IDF called up 5,000 reservists for active duty Tuesday as fears mounted globally of a full-blown Israeli assault on Gaza. The last such war--which Israel called "Operation Protective Edge"--left more than 2,100 Palestinians, including over 500 children, dead during seven weeks of mostly one-sided fighting in the summer of 2014. Israel lost 67 soldiers and six civilians in the war.
As Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayye urged the United Nations Security Council to intervene to stop "the Israeli aggression against our people" and leading international figures including a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights pleaded for an end to the violence, Israeli forces once again stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, Israeli border police were deployed in the city of Lod on Tuesday following violence between Jews and Arabs that left at least one Palestinian man dead on Monday. In Ramla, right-wing Israelis set up checkpoints and attacked Palestinians as they drove past.
The current eruption of violence began last week amid the brutal Israeli repression of protests against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Israeli forces and settler colonists in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, and the wounding of hundreds of Palestinians during an Israeli assault on Al-Aqsa, the third-holiest site in Islam.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Israel's military faced war crime accusations Tuesday after carrying out an airstrike that completely destroyed a high-rise apartment building in densely populated Gaza City, prompting a massive barrage of retaliatory rocket fire as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to further escalate violence that has already left over 30 people--almost all of them Palestinians--dead.
Israeli media and a United Nations official report residents of the 13-story apartment building in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City were repeatedly warned--including by telephone and a "roof-knocking" airstrike--of the impending attack, which occurred around 8:30 pm local time.
Video of the Israeli strike shows multiple explosions followed by the tower's collapse. International observers promptly noted that the deliberate destruction of homes when not "imperatively demanded by the necessities of war" is a war crime.
Dozens of Palestinian families were left without homes following the attack. It was not immediately clear if the building was completely evacuated, or if there were any casualties from the strike.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials said the building--which contained 80 apartments--housed an office used by senior political officials of Hamas, the democratically elected leaders of Gaza.
"We expect that this powerful attack on the high-rise building, which shook all of Gaza, will lead to extensive shooting toward Israel," an IDF spokesperson correctly predicted.
Within 15 minutes of the tower's destruction, the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad announced it would retaliate with rockets aimed at Tel Aviv. Hamas said it fired more than 130 rockets into Israel in response to the Gaza tower attack. Indiscriminate rocket attacks against civilian areas are also considered war crimes under international law.
Social media news feeds soon filled with videos of the U.S.-Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system intercepting a hail of incoming rockets. However, not all of the inbound projectiles were destroyed, with IDF officials blaming some of the rocket strikes in Ashkelon on a temporarily malfunctioning Iron Dome battery.
Homes, a bus, an empty school, and other structures were hit in numerous locations in Israel, resulting in at least one death and numerous injuries. A 50-year-old Israeli woman was reportedly killed when a rocket struck her home in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Leziyon at around 9:30 pm local time, bringing the total number of Israelis killed during what Palestinian militants are calling the "Jerusalem Sword" campaign to two.
The other Israeli victim, an 80-year-old woman, was killed along with her Indian caretaker when a rocket struck an apartment building in Ashkelon earlier on Tuesday.
Israeli forces have reportedly killed at least 30 Palestinians, including 10 children, in what the IDF has dubbed "Operation Guardian of the Walls." Amid the escalating bloodshed, Netanyahu vowed that Israel would "increase both the intensity of the attacks and the rate of attacks."
The IDF called up 5,000 reservists for active duty Tuesday as fears mounted globally of a full-blown Israeli assault on Gaza. The last such war--which Israel called "Operation Protective Edge"--left more than 2,100 Palestinians, including over 500 children, dead during seven weeks of mostly one-sided fighting in the summer of 2014. Israel lost 67 soldiers and six civilians in the war.
As Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayye urged the United Nations Security Council to intervene to stop "the Israeli aggression against our people" and leading international figures including a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights pleaded for an end to the violence, Israeli forces once again stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, Israeli border police were deployed in the city of Lod on Tuesday following violence between Jews and Arabs that left at least one Palestinian man dead on Monday. In Ramla, right-wing Israelis set up checkpoints and attacked Palestinians as they drove past.
The current eruption of violence began last week amid the brutal Israeli repression of protests against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Israeli forces and settler colonists in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, and the wounding of hundreds of Palestinians during an Israeli assault on Al-Aqsa, the third-holiest site in Islam.
Israel's military faced war crime accusations Tuesday after carrying out an airstrike that completely destroyed a high-rise apartment building in densely populated Gaza City, prompting a massive barrage of retaliatory rocket fire as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to further escalate violence that has already left over 30 people--almost all of them Palestinians--dead.
Israeli media and a United Nations official report residents of the 13-story apartment building in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City were repeatedly warned--including by telephone and a "roof-knocking" airstrike--of the impending attack, which occurred around 8:30 pm local time.
Video of the Israeli strike shows multiple explosions followed by the tower's collapse. International observers promptly noted that the deliberate destruction of homes when not "imperatively demanded by the necessities of war" is a war crime.
Dozens of Palestinian families were left without homes following the attack. It was not immediately clear if the building was completely evacuated, or if there were any casualties from the strike.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials said the building--which contained 80 apartments--housed an office used by senior political officials of Hamas, the democratically elected leaders of Gaza.
"We expect that this powerful attack on the high-rise building, which shook all of Gaza, will lead to extensive shooting toward Israel," an IDF spokesperson correctly predicted.
Within 15 minutes of the tower's destruction, the armed resistance wing of Islamic Jihad announced it would retaliate with rockets aimed at Tel Aviv. Hamas said it fired more than 130 rockets into Israel in response to the Gaza tower attack. Indiscriminate rocket attacks against civilian areas are also considered war crimes under international law.
Social media news feeds soon filled with videos of the U.S.-Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system intercepting a hail of incoming rockets. However, not all of the inbound projectiles were destroyed, with IDF officials blaming some of the rocket strikes in Ashkelon on a temporarily malfunctioning Iron Dome battery.
Homes, a bus, an empty school, and other structures were hit in numerous locations in Israel, resulting in at least one death and numerous injuries. A 50-year-old Israeli woman was reportedly killed when a rocket struck her home in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Leziyon at around 9:30 pm local time, bringing the total number of Israelis killed during what Palestinian militants are calling the "Jerusalem Sword" campaign to two.
The other Israeli victim, an 80-year-old woman, was killed along with her Indian caretaker when a rocket struck an apartment building in Ashkelon earlier on Tuesday.
Israeli forces have reportedly killed at least 30 Palestinians, including 10 children, in what the IDF has dubbed "Operation Guardian of the Walls." Amid the escalating bloodshed, Netanyahu vowed that Israel would "increase both the intensity of the attacks and the rate of attacks."
The IDF called up 5,000 reservists for active duty Tuesday as fears mounted globally of a full-blown Israeli assault on Gaza. The last such war--which Israel called "Operation Protective Edge"--left more than 2,100 Palestinians, including over 500 children, dead during seven weeks of mostly one-sided fighting in the summer of 2014. Israel lost 67 soldiers and six civilians in the war.
As Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayye urged the United Nations Security Council to intervene to stop "the Israeli aggression against our people" and leading international figures including a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights pleaded for an end to the violence, Israeli forces once again stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, Israeli border police were deployed in the city of Lod on Tuesday following violence between Jews and Arabs that left at least one Palestinian man dead on Monday. In Ramla, right-wing Israelis set up checkpoints and attacked Palestinians as they drove past.
The current eruption of violence began last week amid the brutal Israeli repression of protests against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Israeli forces and settler colonists in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, and the wounding of hundreds of Palestinians during an Israeli assault on Al-Aqsa, the third-holiest site in Islam.