Israel bombs high-rise buildings in Gaza City ahead of massive offensive

The Israeli military on Friday began flattening high-rise buildings in Gaza City that it claims are used by Hamas for military purposes. Why it matters: Friday's strikes mark the first major phase in Israel's new offensive to occupy Gaza City, which the government says is aimed at rooting out Hamas. The operation — backed by President Trump — is expected to escalate in the coming days.Behind the scenes: Israel's top security chiefs — Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Gen. Eyal Zamir, the heads of Mossad, Shin Bet and military intelligence — advised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against launching the operation. They warned it could:Endanger the lives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.Lead to heavy IDF casualties.Fail to dismantle Hamas.Force Israel into direct military rule over Gaza's two million residents.The security officials recommended Netanyahu and his Cabinet pursue a hostage and ceasefire deal instead. Hamas is still holding 48 hostages, with about 20 believed to be alive.According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, more than 64,000 Palestinians — most of them women and children — have been killed since Israel's offensive began after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.Roughly 900,000 Palestinians remain in Gaza City. Israeli officials say only 70,000 have left in recent days, raising fears the new assault could dramatically increase the death toll. Driving the news: The IDF said Friday it would conduct strikes against several high-rises where Hamas has allegedly installed cameras and positioned war rooms, snipers and anti-tank missiles to target the Israeli military.The IDF said Hamas also planted explosive devices near the buildings and is planning to detonate them against Israeli forces based on the intelligence it receives from the surveillance cameras. The IDF issued a warning on Friday morning to all people in the area of the Mushtaha high-rise in Gaza City ahead of a planned strike. Two hours later, the building was bombed from the air and flattened. A video on social media shows the building collapses after being hit by three missiles. What they're saying: "Hamas has established underground infrastructure under the building, from which it advances terror operations against IDF forces in the area. The infrastructure is used to carry out ambushes against IDF forces and as escape routes for the terrorists," the IDF said in a statement."The bolt is now being lifted from the gates of hell in Gaza," Israeli minister of defense Israel Katz said in a statement shortly before the first building was flattened."Once the gate is opened, it will not be closed, and IDF operations will intensify until Hamas murderers and rapists accept Israel's conditions to end the war, foremost among them the release of all the hostages and disarmament, or be destroyed."The big picture: Several weeks ago, Hamas agreed to a proposal for the release of 10 live Israeli hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire. Israel rejected the deal, saying it isn't interested in a partial deal and demanding the release of all 48 remaining hostages.On Wednesday, Trump posted a statement on Truth Social calling on Hamas to release the 20 remaining live hostages immediately, and stressing that if they do, "things will change rapidly. IT WILL END."Shortly after, Hamas issued a statement offering to release all hostages in exchange for an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu dismissed the offer as a "spin."White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with senior Qatari officials in Paris on Thursday and discussed efforts to reach a deal for the release of all the remaining hostages held by Hamas in return for ending the war, according to two sources familiar with the details.On Friday, Hamas published a new video of two Israeli hostages held in Gaza City. One warned that at least eight hostages are held in Gaza City and that their lives will be at risk if the IDF goes forward with its new offensive. A source familiar with the talks said that "so far there has been no progress in the negotiations, mainly because of the Israeli position."An Israeli official acknowledged that the efforts to reach the deal are stuck, but said the U.S. is not pushing any new initiative and Hamas isn't showing enough flexibility. "For now, no one has a rabbit to pull out of his hat," the Israeli official said.

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