By: Fern Sidman

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued its campaign against Hamas in Gaza on Sunday evening, striking the so-called “Unknown Soldier” Tower in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, a building that military officials said was being used as a hub for intelligence gathering and operational planning by the terror group.

According to a detailed report that appeared on Sunday on Israel National News, the high-rise, a prominent landmark in central Gaza, had become a key site for Hamas activities, including surveillance of Israeli troops, intelligence collection, and coordination of terrorist operations. The strike came after the IDF issued explicit warnings to residents in the surrounding areas, urging civilians to evacuate in advance of the attack.

IDF Arabic Language Spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee directly addressed Gazans in a public call, posted on multiple media platforms, urging anyone still inside the “Unknown Soldier” Tower and nearby areas to leave immediately.

“Everyone who has not yet evacuated the Gaza Port area and the Rimal neighborhood in blocks 702, 703, 704, and specifically in the Unknown Soldier Tower, marked in red, and in the nearby tents located on Omar Al-Mukhtar Street, must evacuate at once,” Adraee stated. His message, reported by Israel National News, was part of the IDF’s broader policy of advance warnings designed to minimize civilian casualties while striking Hamas targets embedded in densely populated neighborhoods.

Adraee’s warnings have become a hallmark of Israel’s military communication strategy in Gaza, reflecting both the complexity of urban warfare and Israel’s efforts to distinguish between civilian populations and terrorist infrastructure.

The IDF carried out precision strikes today against Hamas infrastructure in Gaza City, hitting two high-rise towers — including a building on the Islamic University campus.

According to the military, Hamas had turned both sites into operational hubs, setting up surveillance… pic.twitter.com/0KebGzCChU

— The Jewish Voice (@TJVNEWS) September 14, 2025

Following the strike, the IDF released a statement confirming that its forces had hit “a high-rise building that was used by the Hamas terrorist organization in the area of Gaza City.”

The statement elaborated that Hamas had planted advanced intelligence-gathering equipment in the tower, while positioning observation posts within the structure to track Israeli troop movements. These measures were intended to facilitate attacks against both military personnel and civilians in southern Israel.

“By embedding themselves in the heart of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, Hamas once again demonstrated its strategy of using human shields and exploiting the local population as cover for its operations,” the IDF said, in comments echoed by Israel National News.

Sunday’s strike was not an isolated incident. Earlier in the day, the IDF announced that it had also targeted two other high-rise buildings in Gaza City, which military intelligence had identified as being repurposed for Hamas operations.

While the IDF did not publicly identify the specific structures hit, Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza claimed that one of the towers belonged to the Islamic University. According to the information provided in the Israel National News report, this institution has long been associated with Hamas activities, serving as a center for recruitment, indoctrination, and the development of technical expertise used in the group’s weapons programs.

By striking such high-profile buildings, Israel is intensifying its campaign against Hamas’s command-and-control infrastructure, signaling a determination to dismantle the group’s urban strongholds in Gaza’s largest city.

The Rimal neighborhood, one of Gaza City’s more affluent and historically significant districts, has been a focal point of IDF operations. Once home to foreign embassies, media offices, and commercial centers, the area has also been co-opted by Hamas as a key operational hub.

As Israel National News has frequently reported, Hamas deliberately embeds its assets within such civilian-rich districts, creating dilemmas for Israeli commanders tasked with eliminating terror threats while minimizing harm to uninvolved residents.

By targeting Rimal’s high-rises, Israel is striking at the heart of Hamas’s strategy—dismantling its ability to operate from within Gaza’s most visible landmarks while simultaneously exposing the terror group’s exploitation of civilian areas.

The strikes on the “Unknown Soldier” Tower and other high-rises are part of a broader escalation in Gaza City, which has seen sustained IDF pressure in recent weeks. Israel has steadily expanded its ground operations and aerial campaign, with a particular emphasis on neutralizing Hamas’s intelligence and logistical networks.

According to military analysts cited by Israel National News, these strikes serve multiple purposes: degrading Hamas’s battlefield capabilities, undermining its psychological hold over the population, and signaling to international observers that Israel will not allow terrorist organizations to operate with impunity under the cover of civilian infrastructure.

As with previous IDF operations in densely populated areas, the strikes have prompted criticism from some international quarters, with humanitarian groups warning of civilian displacement and casualties. However, Israeli officials have countered by highlighting the pre-strike warnings issued by Adraee and other IDF spokespeople, arguing that responsibility for civilian harm lies with Hamas, which routinely uses residential and commercial buildings for military purposes.

Israel National News reported that Israeli diplomats are preparing for intensified pressure at the United Nations, where debates over Gaza have become increasingly charged. Yet Jerusalem remains firm in its position that striking Hamas infrastructure is a matter of national survival, particularly in the wake of continued rocket fire and infiltration attempts across the border.

The targeting of the “Unknown Soldier” Tower carries symbolic weight beyond its military significance. Named to evoke themes of resistance and sacrifice, the building had been co-opted by Hamas as part of its propaganda efforts, positioning itself as the “defender” of Gaza.

By striking the tower, Israel not only eliminated a tangible threat but also disrupted Hamas’s ability to project an image of strength through its occupation of symbolic sites. Analysts cited by Israel National News noted that such strikes undermine Hamas’s narrative, weakening its grip over public perception in Gaza.

The IDF’s strikes on high-rises in Gaza City reflect a deliberate strategy to dismantle Hamas’s infrastructure in stages, beginning with its most visible and strategically significant assets. While the campaign is far from over, Israeli officials have made clear that no building or landmark is off-limits if it serves as a base for terrorism.

As Israel National News reported, the events of Sunday evening highlight the difficult balance Israel continues to navigate: acting decisively to neutralize threats while grappling with the international scrutiny that inevitably accompanies military action in urban environments.

The destruction of the “Unknown Soldier” Tower may mark a turning point in the ongoing battle for Gaza City. For Israel, the strike represents both a tactical success and a symbolic victory against a terror organization that thrives on embedding itself within the very heart of civilian life.