Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have been exchanging fire through the night after clashes in Jerusalem Monday left hundreds injured and tensions sky high, prompting an uptick in the violence, official sources and pictures showed. Israeli airstrikes have left at least 24 dead, including nine children, in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israel Defense Forces says it killed 15 militants.
A 13-storey residential tower in the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli air strike on Tuesday night and soon after collapsed, witnesses said, amid a surge in fighting between Israel and Gaza militants.
The tower houses an office that is used by the political leadership of Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas.
Residents of the tower and people living nearby had been warned to evacuate the area around an hour before the air strike, according to witnesses. It was not immediately clear if the building had been fully evacuated, or if there were casualties.
