The conflict between Israel and Palestine intensified further on Saturday after the former attacked a 13-floor high-rise building in the Gaza City that housed media outlets, including Qatar-based Al Jazeera and United States' The Associated Press.

The officials and journalists at the office said that the strike came nearly an hour after Israel ordered people to evacuate the building. The attack completely destroyed the building.

 The Israeli military said it targeted the building because it contained assets of Hamas intelligence agencies, which it said were using media offices as “human shields.”

The latest outburst of violence began in Jerusalem and has spread across the region, with Jewish-Arab clashes and rioting in mixed cities of Israel. There were also widespread Palestinian protests Friday in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot and killed 11 people.