A building housing about 100 displaced Palestinian families has collapsed in Gaza City, killing at least 19 people, as rescuers search the rubble for dozens of people believed to be trapped, including children. A rescue team from Gaza’s civil defence said they had recovered the bodies of five children among the victims, while 25 injured people were taken to hospital. Medical sources said rescuers could hear the voices of people trapped beneath the rubble as they tried to reach them.
The bombed-out multi storey building, which contained four apartments on each floor, had previously been hit by Israeli strikes during the war, leaving its structure badly weakened and at risk of collapse. When it gave way on Wednesday, it fell on to tents beside it housing displaced families, witnesses said. The collapse highlights the continuing danger facing tens of thousands of Palestinians living in an estimated 2,000 buildings damaged by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza.
Mohammed Abu Dan, a superviser with the civil defence team recovering victims, said more than 10 families had been living in the building and displaced people had been forced to stay there because no other shelter was available. Palestinian and UN officials have blamed Israeli restrictions on Gaza for the lack of heavy machinery in the territory. Israel says its restrictions are intended to prevent equipment from reaching militant groups.
A video obtained by showed rescue workers trying to pull two people from beneath a collapsed wall. Another video circulating on social media showed Gaza’s civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, carrying a young girl wrapped in a bloodstained scarf. Raed al-Dahshan, the director of Gaza City’s civil defence service, said: “We are still hearing voices from under the rubble, so there is still hope to find people.” Alessandro Mrakic, the head of the UN Development Programme’s Gaza office, said rescuers from UN agencies were taking part in the operation, which he described as extremely difficult because of the lack of appropriate machinery.
Egypt’s relief agency was also involved. We need to prepare [for more deaths],” Mrakic said. Tents belonging to displaced families had been erected along the road beside the building because there was nowhere else for them to shelter.
Similar incidents have occurred repeatedly over the past two years, with dozens of homes and buildings damaged during the war later collapsing, trapping people and causing further deaths and injuries. With few other options, many Palestinians have returned to partly destroyed homes or moved into abandoned buildings, clearing small spaces among the rubble despite the danger. Soaring rents and the cost of vacant land have made finding safer accommodation increasingly difficult.
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