An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building that housed several media outlets in the Gaza Strip, including The Associated Press and Al Jazeera.
The airstrike Saturday came roughly an hour after the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate the building, the AP reported. Al Jazeera aired the bombing live.
In addition to the media centers, the building had a number of offices and apartments.
AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said he was “shocked and horrified” by the attack and was seeking information from the Israeli government and the State Department to learn why the building, long known to Israel as the office of journalists, was targeted. “This is an incredibly disturbing development,” Pruitt said in a statement. “We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life. A dozen AP journalists and freelancers were inside the building and thankfully we were able to evacuate them in time.”
The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today.
The Israel Defense Forces said the high-rise housed “military assets” used by the military intelligence wing of the Strip’s Hamas rulers. The IDF accused Hamas of “hiding behind” the offices of the press outlets in the Al Jalaa tower and “using them as human shields,” The Times of Israel reported.
“The Hamas terror group intentionally locates its military assets in the hearts of civil populations in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement.
After the team evacuated, AP journalist Najib Jobain and others set up a new live position from a nearby rooftop and captured the attack as it happened, AP Managing Editor Brian Carovillano tweeted. The video they shot showed the building collapsing into rubble.
The Biden administration criticized the airstrike. ” We have communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted.
The airstrike came amid continued fighting between Israel and the Hamas militants in Gaza.
Thirteen people were killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials, raising the territory’s death toll to 139. Among the victims, 10 were from the same family, including eight children. Their house was hit by an Israeli air strike at a refugee camp west of Gaza City, Palestinian officials told the BBC.
Hamas fired about 200 rockets at Israel overnight in response, hitting homes in three southern cities. A man in his 50s died during a rocket attack in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan. He’s the ninth person to be killed in Israel since fighting began.
Hamas threatened to target central Israel after the tower was destroyed.
“After the bombing of the civilian tower in Gaza, residents of Tel Aviv and the center must be on standby,” said Abu Obeida, the spokesman of Hamas’ military wing.
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