The Israeli military destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza on Saturday after giving advance warning to civilians inside, leading The Associated Press to condemn the airstrike.
The Israeli Defense Forces Twitter account posted a message saying it had given advance warning that the building would be demolished. The structure housed international media offices, including offices for the AP and for Al Jazeera.
“After providing advance warning to civilians & time to evacuate, IDF fighter jets struck a multi-story building containing Hamas military intelligence assets,” the IDF said.
“The building contained civilian media offices, which Hamas hides behind and deliberately uses as human shields.”
After providing advance warning to civilians & time to evacuate, IDF fighter jets struck a multi-story building containing Hamas military intelligence assets.
The building contained civilian media offices, which Hamas hides behind and deliberately uses as human shields. pic.twitter.com/zeDjEquePD
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 15, 2021
The AP shared updates on Twitter, saying it had been notified all residents needed to evacuate the building due to an imminent attack.
The owner of a Gaza high-rise housing the AP and other media outlets says he has received a call from the Israeli military that the building would be targeted. The man said he was told to make sure all residents have evacuated. https://t.co/QyRtPSPtlf
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 15, 2021
In another post, the AP confirmed that the building in Gaza had been leveled.
AP VIDEO: An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media. https://t.co/P4zeHsCrAg
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 15, 2021
Explosives appeared to target the building’s foundation, leading to a complete collapse.
“AP staffers and other tenants safely evacuated their office building after the military telephoned a warning that the strike was imminent within an hour. Three heavy missiles struck the 12-story building, collapsing it in a giant cloud of dust,” the outlet reported.
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AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt soon issued a statement condemning Israel’s destruction of the building, which, according to the IDF, was being used by terrorists.
“We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza. They have long known the location of our bureau and knew journalists were there. We received a warning that the building would be hit,” Pruitt said.
“We are seeking information from the Israeli government and are engaged with the U.S. State Department to try to learn more,” he added.
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“This is an incredibly disturbing development. We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life. A dozen AP journalists and freelancers were inside the building and thankfully we were able to evacuate them in time,” Pruitt concluded.
“The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today.”
Al Jazeera, a Qatari-owned outlet with offices in the building, shared updates regarding the strike as well.
“I have been working here for 11 years. I have been covering many events from this building … now everything, in two seconds, just vanished.” – Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout.
Israel bombs offices of Al Jazeera and AP news agency.
? LIVE updates: https://t.co/RvtP1lEX1x pic.twitter.com/bKCVO9vjnB
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 15, 2021
The IDF began responding last week after Hamas militants fired rockets at civilian areas in cities across the country.
In recent days, the tense situation has escalated as Israel continues to respond to rocket attacks with force.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
