ISRAEL’S defence minister warned Palestinians on Friday that the “gates of hell” are opening in Gaza, as the country’s military destroyed a high-rise tower in a densely populated part of Gaza City.

Israel Katz declared that this is the first step toward an escalation of Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip.

He said: “Now the lock on the hell gates in Gaza has been opened, it will not close, and IDF operations will continue to intensify — until Hamas accept Israel’s conditions for ending the war, foremost among them the release of all hostages and disarmament — or they will be destroyed.”

The onslaught by Israeli forces killed at least 44 people across Gaza on Friday, including at least seven children killed in attacks on Gaza City.

The latest Israeli shift in tactics has provoked fear among Palestinians.

Ahmed Abu Wutfa, who lives in his relatives’ partially destroyed fifth-floor apartment in western Gaza City, said: “The news about Israel beginning to bomb towers and apartment buildings is terrifying. Everyone is scared and doesn’t know where to go.

“My children are terrified, and so am I. There is no safe place — we only hope that death comes quickly.”

A young boy who witnessed the attack told the Al Jazeera news network that Mushtaha Tower “is now reduced to dust.

“We were told the Israeli war planes would strike. We kept waiting for food — we would rather die of Israeli missiles than of hunger.”

A statement from the Israeli military claimed that Mushtaha Tower included “Hamas infrastructure” and was used to plan and carry out operations against Israeli forces.

Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said: “A short while ago, the [military] attacked a multistorey building in Gaza City used by Hamas.

“Hamas terrorist infrastructure was located inside the building, used to promote and carry out terrorist plots against [Israeli] forces in the area.”

He claimed, without evidence, that an underground structure was also located beneath the building from which Hamas fighters launched ambushes and used it as an escape route.

“Prior to the attack, numerous steps were taken to avoid civilian casualties, including warning residents, using precision munitions, aerial reconnaissance and additional intelligence,” he said.

Reports from eyewitnesses in Gaza say the attack came just 15 minutes after the forced evacuation was ordered by the Israelis.

But the management of the Mushtaha Tower denied Israeli claims that the high-rise building was being used by Hamas fighters.

The building’s management said the building was only accessible to displaced people.