A second major high-rise in Gaza City has been destroyed as Israel’s military campaign in the area intensifies.
The Sussi Tower, once home to families and businesses, crumbled after an airstrike, just a day after another prominent building, the Mushtaha Tower, was leveled. Video of the collapse circulated widely online, showing the structure folding into a massive cloud of dust and debris.
Israel’s military says the tower was being used by Hamas, though the group denies this. It is unclear whether anyone was killed or injured. Before the strike, leaflets were dropped urging residents to move south to an area described as a “humanitarian zone.” Many civilians, however, say those camps are overcrowded, unsafe, and lack adequate medical support.
The destruction of tall buildings has become a painful symbol of the war’s toll. Gaza’s skyline, once dotted with residential and commercial towers that represented decades of growth and hope after the Oslo peace agreements, is being erased one building at a time.
Satellite images show entire neighborhoods flattened over recent weeks. Families displaced by previous strikes had been sheltering in some of the now-destroyed towers, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Almost a million people are still thought to be living in Gaza City, where conditions have deteriorated sharply amid shortages of food, water, and medical care. International agencies warn of the risk of famine and the collapse of basic services if the bombardment continues.
Israel launched its offensive following the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Gaza health officials report tens of thousands of deaths since the fighting began, with many more people at risk due to hunger and lack of treatment.
The repeated loss of high-rises once seen as symbols of progress leaves residents grappling not only with physical destruction but with the erosion of their city’s identity and future.