JERUSALEM: Israel has displaced dozens more Palestinians after destroying another high-rise building in Gaza City, the second such attack in 24 hours.

At least 46 people have been killed in strikes on a school, tents and houses across Gaza on Sunday, while a drone launched from Yemen hit an airport in southern Israel forcing suspension of flights for some hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the army was “deepening” its assault in and around Gaza City, as it seeks to step up pressure on the Palestinian group Hamas.

Israeli air strikes have flattened two high-rises in Gaza City as troops intensified their operations in the area, aiming to conquer the Palestinian territory’s largest urban centre. “We are deepening the manoeuvre on the outskirts of Gaza City and within Gaza City itself,” Netanyahu told ministers at the start of a cabinet meeting, according to a video shared by his office.

Netanyahu says army ‘deepening’ assault on Gaza City

“We are destroying terrorist infrastructure, we are demolishing identified terror towers,” Netanyahu said.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 64,368 people and wounded 162,776 others since October 2023.

The Israeli military has claimed that the two high-rises flattened in the latest strikes were used by Hamas to “monitor” Israeli troops — an accusation denied by the Palestinian group.

The escalation has fuelled fears of a further deterioration in already dire humanitarian conditions for Palestinians living in the area.

Netanyahu said that Israel had “established another humanitarian zone to allow the civilian population in Gaza to move to a safe area”.

Netanyahu said around 100,000 residents had already left Gaza City, accusing Hamas of trying to prevent evacuations and of using civilians as “human shields”.

Mustafa Al-Jamal, who lives in Gaza city, told AFP that he did not plan to leave. He said the area in southern Gaza residents were told to evacuate to has been repeatedly bombed despite being declared “a safe zone”.

“Where can we go? We have no money, no tent, no house, no food.”

Meanwhile, families and supporters of Israeli prisoners take to the streets, demanding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sign a deal to secure the release of their loved ones instead of prolonging the war. Israeli protesters took to the streets to call on their government to reverse the decision to conquer Gaza City, fearing for the fate of prisoners believed to be held there.

“I am mortified by the fact that the Israeli army is conquering Gaza right now,” said Edith, a protester in Jerusalem who declined to give her full name.

Ramon airport hit

Earlier, Israel’s Airports Authority said that a drone launched from Yemen struck the arrivals hall at Ramon Airport near the Red Sea city of Eilat. It said takeoffs and landings at the airport were halted. Hours later, normal operations were restored.

The Israeli military said it was investigating the crash of a drone that was launched from Yemen and fell in the airport’s area. The military said the incident was under review without providing details on the impact.

The airport located near the resort city of Eilat on the border with Jordan and Egypt mostly handles domestic flights.

Israel’s military said it intercepted on Sunday three drones launched from Yemen, whose Houthi rebels have vowed to avenge the killing of their prime minister in an Israeli air strike last month.

“A short while ago, the IAF (Israeli air force) intercepted three UAVs that made their way from Yemen,” the military said in a statement, adding two were downed before entering Israeli airspace. It did not specify what happened to the third.

Israel assassinated the head of the Houthi government together with 11 other senior officials in air strikes two weeks ago. In retaliation, the Yemeni group launched eight ballistic missiles and seven UAVs at Israel, all of which were intercepted or fell on the way, according to Israeli media reports.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2025