Israeli forces on Monday bombed a 12-story residential building in central Gaza City, known as Al-Roya 2, where dozens of displaced families were staying, three hours after ordering the evacuation of the building and hundreds of tents in the surrounding area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) justified the attack by claiming that Hamas terrorists had installed intelligence-gathering equipment and explosive devices in the building, using it “throughout the war to plan and promote terrorist attacks against IDF forces.”
The bombing comes amid what Israel described as an intensification of airstrikes on Gaza, dubbed a “powerful hurricane,” which Israeli officials say serves as a final warning to Hamas to release all hostages and surrender, or face the total destruction of the enclave.
Residents reported that Israeli forces bombed Gaza City from the air and detonated old armored vehicles in its streets.
The attack on Al-Roya 2 followed a similar pattern to previous bombings. Over the weekend, Israel destroyed two other residential buildings, alleging that Hamas was using them as observation points. On Sunday, the IDF bombed the original Al-Roya Tower, leaving one dead, according to the local Civil Defense.
“It was like an earthquake,” Mohamed Al Nazli told AFP from Gaza. The building was “completely destroyed and reduced to rubble,” the witness said. “It’s extremely terrifying. We don’t know how much longer we can hold out.”
Hamas, for its part, said it is studying the latest U.S. cease-fire proposal, delivered Sunday with a warning from President Donald Trump that it represents the militant group's"last chance."
Before the attack, the IDF claimed to have taken steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, including public warnings, the use of precision weapons, aerial observation, and additional intelligence. The Israeli military had issued two evacuation orders for Al-Roya, urging residents of the compound and surrounding areas to move south to the Al Mawasi “humanitarian zone” in Khan Younis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously announced that his troops were “expanding” their offensive against the main urban center in the Gaza Strip. “We are expanding our operations in and around Gaza City,” Netanyahu told his ministers during a weekly government meeting.
Netanyahu said that approximately 100,000 residents have already left Gaza City, the main city in the Palestinian enclave. According to recent UN estimates, nearly one million people live in and around the city.
The war began with an assault by Hamas-led terrorists in southern Israel in 2023. The attackers killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, and took more than 250 hostages into Gaza. Most of the hostages were freed in ceasefires in November 2023 and between January and March 2025, but the group has held others as bargaining chips.
The Israeli offensive has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been confirmed dead, according to health officials in Gaza.
The escalation has heightened fears of a further deterioration in the already precarious humanitarian conditions for Palestinians living in the area.
