Israel strikes Gaza City tower, vows to pursue Hamas leaders after Qatar attack

The Israeli military struck another multi-story building in Gaza City on Wednesday, as Israeli officials vowed to continue targeting Hamas leaders even if Tuesday's airstrike in Qatar failed to kill them.

The military expanded its offensive in the city, home to nearly 1 million people. Photos showed the Tayba II Tower, a residential building near the Rimal neighborhood, reduced to rubble after the attack.

The military confirmed it had struck the building, claiming Hamas had installed intelligence-gathering equipment there.

It was the latest in a series of high-rise towers, many sheltering displaced families, hit in recent days. Israel says Hamas mounted surveillance cameras on the buildings to monitor troop movements.

Residents were given less than an hour's warning before the strike, with Avichay Adraee, a military spokesman, urging their evacuation in a post in Arabic on the social media platform X.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's attempted assassination of senior Hamas figures in Qatar was part of an operation dubbed "Fire Summit" aimed at killing the group's top leadership. "Israel's security policy is clear: Israel's long arm will act against its enemies everywhere. There is no place for them to hide," he said.

Katz said Israel will continue to pursue all Hamas members involved in the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that left about 1,200 people dead. He warned that unless Hamas accepted Israel's conditions for ending the war -- which he said were primarily the release of all hostages and disarmament -- "they will be destroyed and Gaza will be destroyed."

The strike in Qatar cast doubt on Gaza ceasefire talks, after Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, announced it was suspending negotiations.

Israel's assault has killed more than 64,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities, and reduced much of the enclave to rubble and pushed the population toward famine.