A war-damaged residential building collapsed in western Gaza City, killing 21 people, including 11 children and six women, while more than 25 others were injured. Rescue teams worked for 16 hours amid severe shortages of heavy equipment, as officials warned thousands of damaged buildings remain at risk.
The death toll from the collapse of a war-damaged residential building in western Gaza City has risen to 21, including 11 children and six women, while more than 25 people were injured, according to local officials and residents. The incident has renewed concerns over the safety of Palestinians living in buildings damaged during the conflict.
The six-storey Al-Saada residential building collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday after previously sustaining damage from Israeli bombardment. The building was located in western Gaza City, near the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said the structure had been sheltering displaced people when it suddenly collapsed.
Residents said around 100 displaced people had been staying inside the building. Many had moved into damaged structures because of the severe shortage of safe housing and shelters across Gaza. Reports said the building had already been considered unsafe following earlier damage, but families continued to live there because they had few alternatives.
According to Basal, rescue teams conducted a 16-hour operation at the site, recovering 21 bodies and rescuing 45 people from the rubble. Another 35 people reportedly managed to escape. More than 25 others were injured in the collapse, according to local officials and residents.
The rescue operation was carried out under extremely difficult conditions. Civil Defence personnel and local residents searched through the debris while facing shortages of heavy machinery and other equipment required to safely remove large sections of concrete. Reports showed residents and rescuers using their hands and basic tools to search for survivors.
The disaster also brought relatives of those inside the building to the site. Dozens of grieving family members gathered around the ruins, with some attempting to remove rubble with their bare hands in the hope of finding survivors. One resident, Louay al-Ajla, 54, said he lost nearly 10 members of his family in the collapse.
Palestinian authorities have blamed restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery and rescue equipment for making emergency operations more difficult. Gaza Civil Defence officials have repeatedly warned that the lack of suitable machinery is slowing rescue efforts and increasing the danger to both trapped civilians and emergency workers.
The collapse has also highlighted the wider structural risks across the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Civil Defence officials have warned that thousands of residential buildings damaged during the conflict remain vulnerable to further collapse. Basal said more than 2,000 residential buildings are at risk, particularly as winter approaches and rain could further weaken already damaged structures.
The Hamas-run Gaza Government Media Office has separately claimed that more than 8,500 missing people remain buried beneath rubble across the Gaza Strip, attributing difficulties in recovery to shortages of heavy machinery and rescue equipment. These figures are claims by the Gaza authorities and could not be independently verified.
The latest collapse comes amid continuing tensions despite the ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025. International and United Nations officials have continued to express concern about Gaza’s humanitarian and housing conditions, while reconstruction remains limited and many displaced Palestinians continue to live in tents, damaged structures or other temporary shelters.
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The Al-Saada building collapse has therefore become another stark example of the risks facing civilians living among war-damaged infrastructure. With thousands of structures reportedly vulnerable and rescue teams facing shortages of equipment, Palestinian officials have called for greater access to machinery and emergency resources to prevent further loss of life.
