Gaza Herald — Gaza has lost one of its most iconic landmarks. The Al Ghufari Tower , the tallest and one of the oldest high-rises in the Strip, was reduced to rubble on Monday in a massive Israeli strike that shook the city to its core. For decades, the 20-storey tower stood as a symbol of Gaza’s endurance, housing families, media offices, and businesses. Its destruction is mourned not only as the loss of a building, but as the erasure of a piece of Gaza’s collective memory and urban identity.
The Israeli army destroyed Al Ghufari Tower, located west of Gaza City, shortly after warning Palestinians residing in it and in nearby areas to evacuate in preparation for its bombing.
Al Ghufari Tower consisted of 20 floors, making it the tallest building in Gaza City. It housed hundreds of Palestinian families, as well as offices for media outlets, media production companies, and other businesses.
Alongside the tower, the army also destroyed several neighboring homes, while thick black smoke spread across an area of about one square kilometer, sparking panic and fear among Palestinian residents.
The area surrounding the tower is among the most overcrowded with displaced Palestinians, as it lies at the far west of the city and has become a refuge for tens of thousands of people displaced from eastern Gaza neighborhoods and northern governorates.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army had ordered the evacuation of the tower and nearby tents of displaced Palestinians, in preparation for its bombing as part of the ongoing military escalation aimed at occupying the city.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement: “Urgent warning to anyone who has not yet evacuated the Gaza Port area and Al-Rimal neighborhood, specifically Al Ghufari Tower marked in red, as well as the nearby tents.”
Threatening imminent strikes, Adraee added: “The Israel Defense Forces will attack the building (Al Ghufari Tower) very soon.”
As is typical in its targeting of civilian structures, Adraee claimed that “Hamas has terrorist infrastructure inside or near the tower, and for your safety you must immediately evacuate the building,” despite the movement’s repeated denials.
He urged displaced Palestinians to move toward the Al-Mawasi area in the southern Gaza Strip, claiming it to be a “humanitarian zone”, despite the Israeli army having repeatedly bombed it, killing and wounding displaced Palestinians there, and despite the area’s lack of even the most basic necessities of life, especially drinking water.
In recent weeks, the Israeli army has intensified its bombardment of residential towers, apartment blocks, and Palestinian homes in Gaza City as part of its plan to occupy the city, raising fears over the consequences for around one million Palestinians, most of them displaced.
With U.S. backing, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving 64,905 Palestinians killed and 164,926 wounded, the majority of them women and children, along with famine that has claimed the lives of 422 Palestinians, including 145 children.
The fall of Al Ghufari Tower marks not just the destruction of stone and steel, but the deliberate erasure of Gaza’s skyline, history, and spirit , a wound that will be carried by generations.
