On Saturday, the United Nations said more than 17,000 residents of Gaza had evacuated their homes and were sheltering in 41 U.N.-run schools across Gaza, only some of which were equipped with supplies, such as blankets, to house displaced people.
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Across the coastal strip, the power supply had fallen to six to eight hours per day on average, and less than four in some areas, affecting medical centers, water supply and Gaza’s sewage treatment plants, the U.N. said. For the third consecutive day, running water to about 230,000 Gazans was shaky, and a desalination plant was not operating for the fifth day in a row, disrupting drinking water for a quarter-million people.
On Saturday afternoon, the Israeli Air Force also destroyed two towers in Gaza City, one of which housed the local offices of The Associated Press, the American news service, and Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based television network. Once again, Israeli officials claimed the target housed militant infrastructure.
The Israeli Army first called the building’s owner, Jawad Mahdi, giving him an hour to evacuate his tenants.
In the minutes before the airstrike, Mr. Mahdi was filmed desperately pleading with the Israeli Army, asking them to allow four journalists who had been filming Mohammed al-Hadidi at hospital an extra 10 minutes to retrieve their belongings.
“There will be no 10 minutes,” the Israeli soldier replied.
Mr. Mahdi tried again. “In the time we’ve been talking for these last 10 minutes, if you’d just let us go, the journalists could have gone in and picked up their gear and come back.”
Then he gave up. “It’s fine, you can do what you want,” Mr. Mahdi said. “Our life’s work is gone, our lives, our memories you’ve just wasted.”
