KEY POINTS
- Israeli air strike destroys another high-rise in Gaza City, the second in two days.
- Gaza Health Ministry reports 68 killed in past 24 hours, raising death toll to 64,368.
- Israel orders civilians to evacuate to Al-Mawasi “humanitarian zone”, despite previous strikes there.
- UN warns of “disaster” as one million people remain in and around Gaza City amid famine.
- Pakistan condemns Israel’s forced displacement plan, calling it a violation of international law.
- Trump says US in “deep negotiation” with Hamas over remaining hostages.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: An Israeli air strike on Saturday destroyed a high-rise in Gaza City — the second in as many days — as health officials said at least 68 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 64,368.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 362 people were wounded in the past day, including 23 killed and 143 injured while waiting for aid. It added that more than 162,000 have been wounded since Israel began its military campaign in October 2023 following the Hamas attack.
The high-rise in Gaza City was struck after the military warned people to flee south ahead of a planned offensive to capture the area.
Israel has intensified air strikes in Gaza City and operations on the city’s outskirts despite calls to abandon the plan, which has sparked widespread fears it could worsen already-dire humanitarian conditions.
On Saturday, the military announced it struck a Gaza City high-rise, saying “Hamas installed intelligence gathering equipment and positioned observation posts in the building in order to monitor” Israeli troops.
Witnesses identified the building as the Sussi residential tower and said it was destroyed, with video shared by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz showing the roughly 15-storey structure buckling to the ground in a cloud of dust and smoke.
“We’re continuing,” Katz said in the post, after having shared a video the previous day of another Gaza City high-rise being destroyed.
‘No safe place’
The Israeli military also issued an evacuation order for another high-rise on Saturday, warning of an imminent strike and telling people to leave to the south.
A military spokesperson had earlier called on residents to leave the city for Al-Mawasi, along the southern coast, where the army said humanitarian aid and medical care would be provided.
The UN estimates there are about a million people in and around Gaza City, warning of a coming “disaster” if the Israeli military goes ahead with its plans to seize the city.
Israel has come under mounting pressure at home and abroad to call off the offensive and end the war in Gaza.
Israel first declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone early in the war, but has carried out repeated strikes on it since.
Gaza City residents said they believed it made little difference whether they stayed or fled.
Dozens of Palestinians interviewed by AFP in Gaza City in recent weeks have said there is “no safe place” in the territory, with many saying they would rather die than be displaced again.
“Some say we should evacuate, others say we should stay,” said Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, 48, a resident of the city’s Zeitun neighbourhood now sheltering in a tent in the Rimal area.
“But everywhere in Gaza there are bombings and deaths. For the past year-and-a-half, the worst bombings that caused massacres of civilians have been in Al-Mawasi, this so-called humanitarian zone,” Mushtaha said as quoted by AFP.
“It no longer makes any difference to us,” said his daughter Samia Mushtaha, 20. “Wherever we go, death pursues us, whether by bombing or hunger.”
Pakistan slams Israel
Pakistan has strongly condemned recent statements by Israel about its intention to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land, according to the country’s Foreign Office (FO).
A statement from the Foreign Office said such actions were a clear violation of international law and a deliberate attempt to sabotage efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.
🔊PR No.2️⃣6️⃣8️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣
Pakistan Condemns the Israeli Occupying Power’s Statements Regarding the Forced Displacement of Palestinians https://t.co/02CZoc7oPg pic.twitter.com/2LjjUgnROg
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) September 6, 2025
“Forced displacement and continued expansion of illegal settlements reflect Israel’s disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law. We call upon the international community to play its role in addressing the humanitarian plight of the civilians and to hold Israel accountable.”
US in ‘deep negotiation’
Israel has faced mounting domestic and international pressure to end the nearly two-year bombardment campaign in Gaza.
Last month, Hamas agreed to a proposal for a temporary ceasefire and staggered hostage releases, but Israel has demanded the Palestinian group release all the hostages at once, disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, among other conditions.
At the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with Hamas over the captives being held in Gaza.
“We’re in very deep negotiation with Hamas,” said Trump. “There could be some (hostages) that have recently died, is what I’m hearing. I hope that’s wrong, but you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation.”
During the October 2023 attack on Israel, Hamas took 251 hostages. The Israeli military says 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.
“We said let them all out right now, let them all out, and much better things will happen for them,” said Trump. “But if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation, it’s going to be nasty.”
Famine and looming ‘Disaster’
The UN estimates nearly one million people remain in and around Gaza City, where it declared a famine last month. It has warned of a looming “disaster” if the assault proceeds.
The vast majority of Gaza’s population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military offensive has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.
