On Monday, a suffocating evening, Gaza City‘s skyline lost another piece of itself. The 14-story al-Roya Tower collapsed into rubble after Israeli warplanes pounded it with a barrage of missiles.

Within minutes, what had been a mix of residential flats, media offices, and small businesses was reduced to rubble, leaving families to sift through ash and broken concrete for traces of their past lives.

For many Palestinians in Gaza, this was more than the loss of another building. Towers, or high-rise buildings, in the war-torn coastal enclave are more than concrete; they are community hubs, centres of livelihood, and collective memory.

Since the war began on 7 October 2023, Israel has repeatedly chosen these towers as deliberate targets, from Rafah and Khan Younis to Jabalia and Beit Hanoun. Gaza City, the cultural and symbolic heart of the Strip, is now facing the same fate.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proudly said that “in two days, we have taken down 50 towers, and this is just the beginning.” …..more