Largest 13-Storey Residential Building in Gaza Collapses After Israeli Air Strike
Largest 13-Storey Residential Building in Gaza Collapses After Israeli Air Strike
Harrowing footage has shown the moment one of Gaza's largest residential buildings collapsed after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike.
TW: This article contains details that some readers may find upsetting.
On Tuesday night, the violence in Gaza Strip escalated after an evening of devastating Israeli airstrikes.
However, despite the spike in attacks this week, the tensions between Israel and Palestine have been brewing for decades.
While many believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began as a result of religion, it was actually born over the ownership of land and territory.
Israel, the world's only Jewish State, was established in 1948.
However, Palestinians, the Arab population that hails from the land Israel now controls, still refer to the territory as Palestine and want to establish a state by that name on all or part of the same land.
In 1967, a war broke out over the ownership and control of the land...
And, ultimately, Israel was left with full control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 2 territories home to large Palestinian populations.
Since then, Israeli security restrictions have been enforced upon Palestinian movement and activities...
And the land has continued to be denied to Palestinians residing there.
Controversially, the U.S has shown strong support for Israel in the last couple of decades.
The Trump administration renewed the warmth in the Israeli-American relationship, culminating in Trump's decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
According to the Institue for Policy Studies, Israel has benefitted from billions of dollars from the U.S...
Mostly in the form of military and economic aid sent annually by Washington.
All the while, Palestinians have continued to fight for their rights, their freedom, and their land.
But this week, the violence has escalated to devastating levels.
In the worst bombardment of airstrikes since 2014, Gaza Strip has this week faced an abundance of attacks from Israeli forces.
At least twenty-eight Gaza residents have been killed by the strikes since sundown Monday, according to Palestinian officials and Israeli media, as per The Washington Post.
At least a further three hundred have been wounded.
Among the dead are 9 children, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.
Palestinian militants retaliated by launching a heavy barrage of missiles on Tuesday, killing at least 2 Israelis in the coastal city of Ashkelon.
Devastating footage from Gaza has been circulating on social media since the airstrikes begun...
This happened in front of my house #GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/BsUgoq0Yrx
— Farah Baker (@Farah_Gazan) May 12, 2021
And people from all over the world have been watching, both transfixed and horrified, as the violence continues to unfold.
Targeting residential towers is uprooting entire Palestinian families from their tiny apartments in the densely populated and poverty-stricken Gaza. It is a crime with an impact extending to several years beyond the time of execution. ICC for Israel NOW.#GazaUnderAttack 💔 pic.twitter.com/7mo45g4U1p
— d2na 𓂆 (@dannzz_8) May 12, 2021
Israel is funded with billions by the US foreign aid, while Gaza is barricaded from all sides & is dubbed an “open-air prison” with the worst possible living conditions on a little strip of land. Don’t be deluded, this is the most unequal, oppressive dynamic #GazaUnderAttack
— غِنى (@babaghanuuj) May 12, 2021
The United States must broker a ceasefire.
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) May 11, 2021
The violence in Israel and Gaza must end. The situation is escalating. People are sheltered, afraid to go to schools or houses of worship. The stories are heartbreaking.
Congress and @POTUS must act immediately. No one wins with war.
I apologize for being repetitive but: the one thing that will let me fall asleep tonight is knowing that, because of Iron Dome, my family in Israel is likely safe. I cannot fathom the pain of Palestinian families in the U.S. worrying about their loved ones in Gaza. Heartbreaking.
— Abraham Gutman🔥 (@abgutman) May 12, 2021
Horro in Gaza: This is not Doomsday; Israel bombarded heavily populated areas mainly in Gaza City with more than 50 missiles soon after dawn, destroying homes, properties, and infrastructure, and terrorizing sleeping civilians especiallykids, women,and elderly. #GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/uus0ZiKmU0
— Haroon Jabarkhil (@JabarkhilHaroon) May 12, 2021
Heartbreaking to see that once again Gaza is under attack. 9 Palestinians including 3 children have now lost their lives. When it comes to genocide and colonialism the world does not get to ignore this, especially the mainstream media. We cannot stay silent while people are pic.twitter.com/bCoJMnjwzH
— CaitlÃn McCotter (@caitlin_mc1) May 10, 2021
Hundreds of Palestinian residents have been left homeless as a result of the attacks.
Palestinians in Gaza evacuate their homes amid intense Israeli bombardment.
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 12, 2021
🔴Latest updates: https://t.co/lw5T3GfljB pic.twitter.com/znnhtr09b7
Despite specific areas being targeted, residential areas and buildings have taken the brunt of the airstrikes, leaving citizens injured and on the streets with nowhere else to go.
And last night, one of Gaza's largest residential buildings was hit.
As previously mentioned, footage of the Hanadi tower block - which is believed to have been thirteen stories high - collapsing after being hit by an Israeli airstrike has been circulating online.
Al Jazeera first shared a video of the collapse.
The moment a multi-storey residential tower in western Gaza City collapsed after Israeli airstrikes targeted the building.
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 11, 2021
🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/p3W2a7d52A pic.twitter.com/kVwMfwSpSY
Thankfully, the residents of the Hanadi tower were evacuated ahead of the strikes and no casualties have so far been reported.
However, this incident has only added to the increasing damage caused by the conflict.
Here's a different angle of the tower's collapse.
Israel destroys a 13-story building in Gaza pic.twitter.com/McGxUWPQng
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) May 11, 2021
Make sure to stay posted for further updates.
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