A building housing about 100 displaced Palestinian families collapsed in Gaza City, killing at least 20 people, as rescuers search the rubble for dozens of people believed to be trapped, including children. A Gaza civil defense rescue team 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 under the rubble as they tried to reach them. The bombed multi-story building, which contained four apartments on each floor, had previously been hit by Israeli attacks during the war, leaving its structure greatly weakened and at risk of collapsing. When it gave way Wednesday, it fell onto nearby tents housing displaced families, witnesses said. Rescuers remove the body of a victim from the collapsed building in southwest Gaza City. Photograph: Hamza ZH Qraiqea/Anadolu/Getty Images The collapse highlights the continued danger faced by tens of thousands of Palestinians living in approximately 2,000 buildings damaged by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza. Mohammed Abu Dan, supervisor of the civil defense team recovering victims, said more than 10 families had been living in the building and that displaced people had been forced to stay there because no other shelter was available. “Search and rescue operations are being carried out in extremely difficult conditions due to a lack of necessary equipment and resources,” Abu Dan said. Palestinian and UN officials have blamed Israeli restrictions on Gaza for the lack of heavy machinery in the territory. Israel says its restrictions are aimed at preventing equipment from reaching militant groups. Video obtained by Reuters showed rescue workers trying to pull two people out from under a collapsed wall. Another video circulating on social media shows Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal carrying a young woman wrapped in a blood-stained scarf. Raed al-Dahshan, director of Gaza City’s civil defense service, said: “We still hear voices under the rubble, so there is still hope of finding people.” due to the lack of adequate machinery. Egypt’s aid agency also participated. “In fact, there are people who are digging with their bare hands. We need to prepare.” [for more deaths]”Tents belonging to displaced families had been pitched along the road next to the building because there was nowhere else to take shelter. The search for survivors and the dead in the rubble continued on Wednesday. Photograph: Hamza ZH Qraiqea/Anadolu/Getty Images Similar incidents have occurred repeatedly over the past two years, with dozens of houses and buildings damaged during the war later collapsing, trapping people and causing more deaths and injuries. With few other options, many Palestinians have returned to partially destroyed homes or have moved into abandoned buildings, clearing small spaces in the rubble despite rising rents and the cost of vacant land have made finding safer accommodation increasingly difficult. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are also unable to return to neighborhoods near the so-called yellow line, forcing families to find whatever space they can elsewhere. In May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to seize 70%. of Gaza. Roofs, walls and supporting columns can collapse without warning, especially during strong winds, heavy rains or new shelling. When asked if they fear for themselves and their children, people living there said: “Yes, we are afraid, but where can we go? This is better than staying on the street.” Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued despite the ceasefire. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 1,369 Palestinians have been killed and 4,627 injured since the fragile ceasefire came into effect on October 11, 2025. Municipal and civil defense teams are carrying out search and rescue operations. Photograph: Saeed MMT Jaras/Anadolu/Getty Images This year, an independent investigation The UN found that Israel had continued to commit genocide by deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza. Separately, a video from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City showed the aftermath of an Israeli drone strike that killed 15-year-old Mohammed al-Zinati and injured several other people. Al-Zinati had been trying to recover the body of a man killed in an earlier attack on its Palestinian population. Another right-wing politician ahead of the October 27 elections, said that 70% of Gaza had already been emptied of its population during Israel’s offensive launched after the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023 that killed more than 1,200 people, the deadliest attack against Israel, according to official Israeli figures. He added that the Israel Defense Forces were prepared “to finish the job so that we can also implement the migration plan.” Since the war began, at least 73,783 Palestinians have been killed and 174,738 injured, according to the Ministry of Health.
