Incredible photographs capture Israeli missiles a split second before they reduce Gaza buildings to rubble in front of Palestinians

Gazing skywards with their hands over their ears, these astonishing pictures capture the moment terrified Palestinians watch Israeli missiles falling from the sky before smashing into an apartment block.

As young men and children congregate in the street, Israeli drones target the building with three strikes, sending thick plumes of smoke billowing into the air just a few metres away.

An F-16 fighter jet then roars overhead to drop the final, knock-out missile, obliterating the building with an almighty boom that rocks the district.

The images, which captured the missiles from different points in the street, were taken earlier this week in Gaza City which has been under constant bombardment since the conflict began three weeks ago.

Just a few minutes earlier, the owner of flats had been told of the impending strike after the Israeli military phoned his son to warn them.

Bashir al-Ramlawi, 58, said he scampered out of the building with 35 of his relatives just in time to see his home reduced to rubble, it was reported by Sudarsan Raghavan from The Washington Post.

Many of his relatives - like some 200,000 other Gazans - had already fled their own houses and now they were homeless again.

As the dust settled, Mr al-Ramlawi said: 'I don’t know why they hit my house. We don't know where we will go.'

Afterwards, people gathered to take take pictures of the devastation on their mobile phones.

Others simply walked nonchalantly on past the explosion, suggesting it was more than a daily occurrence.

Some were so accustomed to aerial strikes they knew the tactics employed by the Israelis - three smaller missiles fired from a drone to warn anyone too close, followed by one from a fighter jet to destroy the building.

It was reportedly a pinpoint strike which left no-one dead or injured, leaving it unclear why the Israelis targeted the building.

The images emerged as at least four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli tank fire barely one hour after Israel and Hamas began observing a three-day ceasefire, Gaza officials have said.

Health Ministry official Ashraf al-Kidra and Gaza police spokesman Ayman Batniji said 15 other Palestinians were wounded in the shelling east of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Palestinian sources also claimed three other people were shot by Israeli sniper fire.

An Israeli army spokesman in Jerusalem said the military was looking into the incidents.

The ceasefire, announced hours earlier by America and the United Nations, took effect at 8am local time (6am BST).

But U.S. secretary of state John Kerry had warned there were 'no guarantees' the lull would bring an end to the war which has so far killed more than 1,450 Palestinians and 60 Israelis.