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| A barefoot Palestinian girl can be seen near the rubble of al-Ghafari tower in Gaza City after it was destroyed by Israeli air strikes on 15 September 2025 (Omar al-Qattaa/AFP) |
Published date: 16 September 2025
Relentless Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling targeted desperate Palestinians in Gaza City on Tuesday, on the same day a United Nations inquiry ruled that Israel is committing genocide in the besieged enclave.
Thick columns of black smoke could be seen filling the sky above the southern Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, as the sounds of fighter jets, helicopter and quadcopter gunfire, along with the detonation of explosive-laden vehicles, echoed throughout the embattled city.
Following weeks of intense aerial attacks on the neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan, Israeli forces stepped up their assault on Gaza City, with the military announcing a "new phase" in its 23-month-long war.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz celebrated the announcement of the deadly assault, declaring on X that "Gaza [City] is burning."
"The IDF (Israeli army) is striking the terror infrastructure with an iron fist... We will not relent and we will not back down, until the mission is completed," he said.
Hours before the assault began, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said
that while the Trump administration wished for a diplomatic end to the
war, "we have to be prepared for the possibility that's not going to
happen."... READ MORE https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-city-israel-strikes-quadcopters-booby-trapped-vehicles-target-palestinians