Several hours before the announced massive attack on the city, Israel's air force bombed and then completely leveled the city's tallest building, the 20-storied al-Ghafri high-rise tower

CAIRO, September 16. /TASS/. More than 3,600 buildings, including the tallest structure, have been completely or partially destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza City, the capital of the embattled enclave, Palestine's WAFA news agency said.

According to the media outlet, by the time of the IDF's "ground offensive," at least 3,600 buildings, including residential ones, have already been partially or completely demolished in the city, as well as about 13,000 multi-occupancy tents sheltering refugees who came to Gaza City mostly from the Strip's northern part. Several hours before the announced massive attack on the city, Israel's air force bombed and then completely leveled the city's tallest building, the 20-storied al-Ghafri high-rise tower. The building housed hundreds of families as well as the offices of the majority of local media outlets and various commercial organizations.

As reported earlier, Israel launched its planned "ground offensive" on Gaza City in order to establish total control over it. As the Axios portal noted, US President Donald Trump's administration is not going to hinder Israel, letting it make decisions with regard to the conflict on its own. The portal's sources noted that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "that the Trump administration supports the ground operation but wants to see it implemented quickly, ending as soon as possible."

On September 8, Netanyahu said that the Israeli army would soon launch a major offensive on the Palestinian city of Gaza, due to which local residents should leave it immediately. Earlier, Israel announced a large-scale offensive operation in the Palestinian enclave with the aim of establishing complete control over Gaza City and fully defeating the Hamas radicals there. The army's offensive plans were approved by Netanyahu in late August.

Over 3,600 buildings, including highest tower, destroyed by IDF in Gaza