GAZA CITY — An Israeli air strike Saturday demolished
the 13-floor building housing Qatar-based Al Jazeera television and American
news agency The Associated Press in the Gaza Strip, AFP journalists said.
اضافة اعلان
Israel "destroyed Jala Tower in the Gaza Strip, which
contains the Al Jazeera and other international press offices," Al Jazeera
said in a tweet, with an AP journalist saying the army had warned the tower's
owner ahead of the strike.
AFP journalists watched the building collapse to the ground
after the Israeli air strike, sending up a huge mushroom cloud of dust and
debris.
Walid Al-Omari, Al Jazeera Jerusalem bureau chief, vowed the
network will not be silenced.
"Clearly there is a decision not only to sow
destruction and killing, but also to silence those who broadcast it," he
told AFP.
And speaking on air shortly after the building was
obliterated, Omari said the strike wanted "to silence media that are
witnessing, documenting, and reporting the truth of what is happening in
Gaza."
"But this is impossible," he said.
Jawad Mehdi, the owner of the Jala Tower, said an Israeli
intelligence officer warned him he had just one hour to ensure the building was
evacuated.
In a phone call with the officer, he begged for an extra 10
minutes to allow journalists to retrieve their equipment before leaving.
"Give us 10 extra minutes," he urged live on
television, but the officer on the other end of the line refused.
AP journalist Fares Akram wrote on Twitter shortly before
the strike that he and colleagues "ran down the stairs from the 11th
floor" to get away from the building.
After the air raid, Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, Safwat
Al-Kahlout, pledged in a phone call with the Qatari broadcaster to continue
coverage "despite the destruction".
"Suddenly everything became rubble," he said.
"We will be on air again with new equipment."
His colleague Harry Fawcett described the strike as
"extraordinary".
"This is a very personal moment for all of us. The idea
that the place is not there anymore is extraordinary to contemplate," he
told the broadcaster.
Israel alleged its "fighter jets attacked a high-rise
building which hosted military assets belonging” to Hamas.
"The building also hosted offices of civilian media
outlets,” Israel said, alleging that Hamas was using the offices as a shield.
Israeli air and artillery strikes on Gaza since Monday have
killed 139 people including 39 children, and wounded 1,000 more, health
officials in the besieged coastal enclave say.
Hamas has fired 2,300 rockets at Israel, killing 10 people,
including a child and a soldier, and wounding over 560 Israelis.
More than half of the missiles fired from the
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have been intercepted by Israel's air defense
system.
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