A war-damaged residential building collapsed in Gaza City early Wednesday morning, killing more than 20 people, including several children, and fearing dozens more were trapped under the rubble, local authorities said.
Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al Shifa Hospital, told CNN that at least 21 people, including 11 children, were killed in the disaster and many others were injured.
According to the Gaza Civil Defense Authority, search and rescue operations are underway at the site of the collapse of the al-Saada building in Gaza City’s Rimal district, where around 100 people are still missing.
The six-story building, with four apartments on each floor, was the target of an Israeli airstrike early in the Gaza war, the Civil Defense Agency said. The Israeli attack followed the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
About 80% of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged since the conflict began, and two-thirds of them have been destroyed, according to the United Nations. The destruction has left Palestinians struggling to find safe haven amid continued threats of Israeli airstrikes and unexploded ordnance.
Especially as winter approaches, the demand for shelter increases. According to the United Nations, about 1.9 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (about 90% of the population) were forced to flee during the war. Many people in the region have been forced to evacuate multiple times.
Hamas’ media office in Gaza said the building collapsed on “dozens of displaced families who had been forcibly displaced in the absence of any alternative safe haven.”
Israel “continues to categorically deny entry to the country of sufficient equipment, machinery and relief supplies needed to respond to such disasters”, accusing it of obstructing rescue efforts. Israel has restricted the entry of so-called “dual-use items” into Gaza, such as heavy equipment that Hamas says could be repurposed for military purposes.
Ramiz Alakhbarov, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, called for “urgent approval” to be granted to bring heavy machinery, engine oil and fuel into Gaza.
“No one should risk their lives just to find a safe haven,” he said Wednesday.
Some 3,000 buildings in the Gaza Strip have been classified as “dangerous” or at risk of collapse after previous Israeli attacks caused structural damage and cracks, the Housing Ministry said on Wednesday.
It said the damage posed a “direct threat to the lives of thousands of families” and called for an immediate regional and international response.
“A tragic and painful scene has been unfolding in Gaza City since midnight. It is a brutal humanitarian event with dozens of innocent people trapped, as you can see under this residential building in front of us,” civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said on Wednesday.
“After the building completely collapsed, people woke up at 3 a.m. to the screams and cries of the children inside,” he added. “We warn of further collapses in areas where populations are currently being evacuated, such as this incident in the Gaza Strip.”
There has been no major reconstruction in Gaza since a fragile ceasefire agreement was agreed between Hamas and Israel in October last year. The United Nations reported in late August that the percentage of damaged buildings in the territory has continued to increase since the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, substantive progress from US President Donald Trump’s peace commission set up to advance a US-brokered ceasefire agreement remains elusive following recent criticism from Israel.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
