A ball of fire erupts from a building housing various international media, including The Associated Press, after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, May 15, 2021 in Gaza City. The attack came roughly an hour after the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate the building, which also housed Al-Jazeera and a number of offices and apartments. There was no immediate explanation for why the building was targeted.
A ball of fire erupts from a building housing various international media, including The Associated Press, after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, May 15, 2021 in Gaza City. The attack came roughly an hour after the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate the building, which also housed Al-Jazeera and a number of offices and apartments. There was no immediate explanation for why the building was targeted. Image Credit: AP
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New York: An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets on Saturday. All AP employees and freelancers evacuated the building safely.

AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt has released the following statement:

"We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP's bureau and other news organisations in Gaza. They have long known the location of our bureau and knew journalists were there. We received a warning that the building would be hit.

"We are seeking information from the Israeli government and are engaged with the US State Department to try to learn more.

"This is an incredibly disturbing development. We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life. A dozen AP journalists and freelancers were inside the building and thankfully we were able to evacuate them in time.

"The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today."