Israeli strikes have struck at least three high-rise buildings in the Gaza City, including a main compound of UN agency for refugees.
Fighting around the U.N. relief agency's headquarters in Gaza City has set part of the compound ablaze with no way to rein in the fire, the agency's local director has said.
The compound was hit by shrapnel and artillery fire during clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas gunmen, said John Ging, the head of operations in Gaza for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.
Three workers were hurt, and the compound's warehouse and workshop were burning out of control within an hour and a half, he said.
"It's a very big fire, and we're not able to get it under control at the moment," he said. With gun battles going on around the facility, "the emergency services are not able to get to us."
Another explosion blasted a tower block in the city of Gaza on Thursday that houses the offices of Reuters and several other media organizations, injuring a journalist for the Abu Dhabi television channel. Reuters journalists working at the time said it appeared the southern side of the 13th floor of the Al-Shurouq Tower in the city centre had been struck by an Israeli missile or shell. Reuters evacuated the bureau. Colleagues said at least one journalist working for Abu Dhabi television on the 14th floor was injured. The 13th floor houses a local television production company. The Reuters bureau is on the 12th floor. Live television footage showed smoke coming from the roof of the building, which towers over the generally low-rise city centre.
The U.N. chief says he has expressed "strong protest and outrage" to Israel over the shelling of a United Nations compound in Gaza City.
Ban Ki-moon is demanding an investigation into Thursday's shelling. He says Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has told him it was a "grave mistake.".
Source: PRESS TV
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