Israel’s Gaza demolitions spark fears of permanent Palestinian displacement

For a decade, Palestinian bank worker Shady Salama Al-Rayyes diligently paid off a $93,000 mortgage on his apartment in a modern high-rise in one of Gaza City's prime neighbourhoods. Now, he and his family are destitute after fleeing an Israeli demolition strike that reduced the 15-storey Mushtaha Tower to rubble in a cloud of smoke and dust, according to the latest report by Reuters.

The September 5 strike marked the start of an intensified Israeli military campaign targeting high-rise buildings ahead of a ground offensive into the densely populated heart of Gaza City, which began this week. Over the past two weeks, Israel's armed forces say they have demolished up to 20 tower blocks they claim were used by Hamas, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that 50 "terrorist towers" have been destroyed.

The demolitions have left hundreds of residents homeless. In the same period, Israeli forces have flattened areas in the Zeitoun, Tuffah, Shejaia, and Sheikh al-Radwan neighbourhoods, according to ten local residents interviewed by Reuters. Satellite imagery reviewed by the agency shows extensive damage to numerous buildings in Sheikh al-Radwan since August.

Al-Rayyes expressed deep concern that the destruction is part of an effort to permanently clear Gaza City’s population—a view echoed by the U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR). OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan warned that any deliberate attempt to relocate civilians would amount to ethnic cleansing.

"I never thought I would leave Gaza City, but the explosions are non-stop," Al-Rayyes said on Wednesday. "I can't risk the safety of my children, so I am packing up and will leave for the south." Despite this, he vowed never to leave Gaza entirely.

In May, Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that most of Gaza would soon be "totally destroyed," with the population confined to a narrow strip near the Egyptian border. The Israeli military has also closed a northern Gaza crossing, further limiting access to already scarce food supplies.

Responding to inquiries, Israel’s military spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Nadav Shoshani, denied that there is a strategy to flatten Gaza, emphasising that the military’s goal is to destroy Hamas and secure the release of hostages.

Even before the current offensive on Gaza City, almost 80% of buildings in Gaza - roughly 247,195 structures - had been damaged or destroyed since the war started, according to the latest data from the United Nations Satellite Centre, gathered in July. This included 213 hospitals and 1,029 schools.

Tareq Abdel-Al, a 23-year-old finance student from Sabra, had been reluctant to leave his home with his extended family despite weeks of bombardment in the area. Exhausted from repeated evacuation orders during the war, they finally departed on the morning of August 19, after neighbouring houses to their three-storey home were demolished.

Just 12 hours later, an Israeli strike completely destroyed their house, Abdel-Al told Reuters by phone from Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, describing the widespread damage along the entire street.

"Should we have stayed, we might have been killed that night," he said. "They destroyed our hope of returning."