Gaza: At least 21 dead, including children, in building collapse
The search for survivors is ongoing but hampered by Israeli restrictions on heavy machineryImage: Mahmoud Issa/REUTERSAdvertisementAt least 21 people, including six children, were killed in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Wednesday morning when a war-damaged building collapsed, injuring at least 14 more people and trapping dozens of others beneath the rubble.
On Wednesday, rescue workers were still searching through the wreckage — in many cases with their bare hands given the lack of heavy machinery in the devastated Palestinian enclave.
"We are still hearing voices from under the rubble," said Raed Al-Dahshan, the director of Gaza City's civil defense service, adding that at least 10 families had lived in the collapsed building and expressing hope that more survivors could yet be found.
"My friend and neighbors live in this building," resident Mohannad Al-Mashharawi told the AFP news agency. "I came to help my friend retrieve some clothes and mattresses. He currently has no shelter or home."
The death toll is expected to rise as the search for victims buried in the rubble continues.
"The situation, you see, is tragic because we don't have the equipment and machinery that is needed," said Alessandro Mrakic, head of the United Nations (UN) Development Program's Gaza office. "So there are actually people are digging with their bare hands."
With wetter autumn and winter weather approaching, Mrakic warned that rain water could destabilize hundreds of other bombed-out buildings in the war-torn territory.
"There are approximately 400 buildings at risk of collapse," he said. "And we know that these buildings will collapse, especially now with the upcoming winter."
According to authorities, about 2,000 damaged buildings in Gaza are still inhabited by Palestinian families, many of whom have told the Reuters news agency that it is the only way to shelter from the wind and rain in the absence of sufficient tents.
"Today's tragedy underscores the grave risks faced by families living in these structures and the urgent need for safer alternatives," said Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
"No one should have to risk their life simply to find a safe place to shelter."
Palestinian and UN officials have blamed Israel's restrictions on Gaza for the lack of heavy machinery available in the enclave.
Israel says it wants to keep such machines out of the hands of Hamas militants, who used such equipment in their deadly raid into Israel in October 2023, prompting Israel's devastating assault on Gaza which has since killed over 73,000 Palestinians — the vast majority of them civilians.
More than 1,300 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since a US-backed ceasefire in October 2025, while the Israeli military says four of its soldiers soldiers have been killed.
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