Key facts
- At least 21 Palestinians, including five children, died when a six-story apartment building collapsed in Gaza City.
- The building housed over 100 displaced people and had sustained damage from earlier Israeli strikes.
- Rescue efforts are severely hampered by a lack of heavy machinery and resources.
- Civil Defence borrowed heavy machinery after initial Israeli restrictions.
- More than 2,000 damaged buildings in Gaza are at risk of collapse due to Israeli strikes.
At least 21 Palestinians, including five children, have been killed after a six-story apartment building collapsed in Gaza City on Wednesday, Gaza authorities reported. The building, which housed over 100 displaced people, had sustained damage from earlier Israeli strikes and crumbled overnight onto nearby homes and tents in the Tal al-Hawa area.
Civil Defence workers are facing significant challenges in their rescue efforts due to a lack of necessary heavy machinery and resources, with some resorting to digging with their bare hands. The agency reported borrowing heavy machinery after initial Israeli restrictions were in place. Palestinian and UN officials have attributed the scarcity of heavy equipment to Israeli restrictions, while Israel stated its measures are intended to prevent equipment from falling into the hands of militant groups.
Similar incidents of damaged buildings collapsing have occurred throughout the conflict, leading to casualties among residents who have returned to partially destroyed homes or occupied abandoned buildings due to soaring rents and a lack of safer accommodation options. The Ministry of Public Works and Housing warned on Wednesday of the dangerous humanitarian and field conditions in the Gaza Strip, with more than 2,000 damaged buildings at risk of collapse as a result of Israeli strikes.