GAZA: In the ongoing exchange of attacks against each other by the Palestinians and Israeli armed forces, an airstrike by Israel on Saturday demolished a 11-floor building called Jala Tower in the Gaza Strip, which housed several media offices including Qatar-based Al Jazeera television and American news agency The Associated Press.

Although there are no reports of any casualties of the attack so far as the building was evacuated before the attack, broadcast footage from Al Jazeera shows the building collapsing to the ground almost immediately after the Israeli airstrike, sending up a huge mushroom cloud of dust and debris.

Jawad Mehdi, the owner of the Jala Tower, said to media people that Israeli intelligence officials had warned him just one hour before to ensure the evacuation of the building sine it could be targetted in an airstrike.

The strike came hours after another Israeli air raid on a densely populated refugee camp in Gaza City killing at least 10 Palestinians mostly children, from an extended family, in the deadliest single strike of the current conflict.

Al Jazeera English channel said in a tweet, "The 11-storey al-Jalaa building housed Al Jazeera, other international media offices and several private residences before an Israeli air raid demolished the structure." 

A statement from Al Jazeera condemned the attack, calling on 'all media and human right institutions' to join forces in denouncing the bombing and to 'hold the government of Israel accountable.'

"Al Jazeera condemns in the strongest terms the bombing and destruction of its offices by the Israeli military in Gaza and views this as a clear act to stop journalists from conducting their sacred duty to inform the world and report events on the ground, Al Jazeera promises to pursue every available route to hold the Israeli government responsible for its actions." the statement read.