What would you respond?

I'm going to assume good faith in your framing, rather than intentional minimization. Suffice it to say, more has happened than "buildings were demolished", and those more things are the subject of the article. Like, for example, an entire city systemically flattened with every single civilian inhabitant killed or exiled on their own land.

To answer your question in that context: yes, that is unusual in war these days, because it is tantamount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.