Israeli demolitions of high-rise buildings and homes across Gaza City are fueling concerns that the campaign could lead to the permanent displacement of Palestinians, said Reuters, quoting the U.N. human rights office (OHCHR).
The Israeli military denies any strategy to “flatten Gaza”, saying the demolitions are aimed at Hamas infrastructure.
Towers Brought Down, Families Uprooted
Reuters reports that, on Sept. 5, an airstrike brought down the 15-storey Mushtaha Tower, once home to 50 families and many displaced relatives. Bank worker Shady Salama Al-Rayyes, who had spent a decade paying a $93,000 mortgage on his flat, fled with his wife and children as Israeli forces warned residents to evacuate.
“I never thought I would leave Gaza City, but the explosions are non-stop,” he told Reuters. “I can’t risk the safety of my children.”
Al-Rayyes accused Israel of trying to permanently clear Gaza City’s population, a fear echoed by OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan, who said forced removal would amount to ethnic cleansing.
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians run as the 15-storey Mushtaha Tower collapses after being hit by an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City, September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
Israel Says Targeting Hamas
Israeli spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani rejected allegations of a wider demolition strategy. He said Hamas used tall buildings for surveillance and attacks, sometimes rigging them with booby traps. Hamas has denied this.
Two Israeli security officials told Reuters that military goals and political rhetoric do not always align, with some political figures speaking of “redevelopment” after Palestinian removal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously claimed that 50 “terrorist towers” were destroyed.
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southwards after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 20, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Expanding Destruction Across Gaza
In the last two weeks, residents say dozens of homes were demolished daily in Zeitoun, Tuffah, Shejaia, and Sheikh Radwan. Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show widespread damage in Gaza City suburbs.
The non-profit ACLED documented over 170 demolition incidents since early August, more than in the first 15 months of the war. The U.N. Satellite Centre reported that by July, nearly 80% of Gaza’s buildings—over 247,000 structures—had been damaged or destroyed since the war began in October 2023.
Aid groups warn the destruction of Gaza’s last remaining tower blocks will worsen overcrowding in the south, where hundreds of thousands have already fled.
“This tactic makes no sense,” said Al-Rayyes. “Even if there was Hamas inside, they could have acted differently—not destroyed a 16-floor building.”
A displaced Palestinian woman, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, carries belongings as she moves southwards after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 20, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
War’s Toll
The war began after Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 in Israel and led to 251 hostages. Israel’s offensive has since killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the population, and pushed parts of Gaza into famine, says Reuters.
Last week, a U.N. inquiry accused Israel of genocide—a finding Israel called biased and “scandalous.”
