Gaza Building Collapse Kills 21, Including Eight Children, as Dozens Remain Missing

At least 21 people, including eight children, have been killed after a war-damaged residential building collapsed in Gaza City, with dozens of people still feared trapped beneath the rubble, local rescuers and medics say.

The six-storey building in the Tal al-Hawa area reportedly suffered serious damage during an Israeli strike more than a year ago and had been left leaning to one side. Despite warnings about its condition, witnesses said displaced families moved into the building because they had few alternatives for shelter.

Rescue teams worked through the night and into Wednesday to search for survivors. The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency initially had to use its bare hands because of a severe shortage of heavy rescue equipment, while United Nations agencies and an Egyptian team joined the operation.

Raed al-Dahshan, director of Civil Defence in Gaza City, said rescuers could still hear voices beneath the rubble. He said the lack of safe shelter had forced people to occupy the damaged building, with the structure eventually collapsing while residents were asleep.

Witnesses described the collapse as sudden and devastating. Umm Mohammed Bakrun, who was staying in a nearby tent, told the BBC that the impact felt like an earthquake and was followed by screams across the area. Another resident said the building had been visibly tilting and that pieces of it had fallen almost every day.

UN Development Programme officials estimated that between 70 and 100 people could have been trapped under the debris. UNDP Gaza head Alessandro Mrakic said rescuers urgently needed machinery, spare parts and other equipment to speed up the search.

The UN has also warned that hundreds of other damaged buildings across Gaza could be at risk of collapse, particularly as winter approaches. The humanitarian relief coordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov, called for heavy rescue equipment, tents and other emergency supplies to be allowed into Gaza.

The UN estimates that about 80% of structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the war, while roughly 1.9 million people have been displaced. About 1.2 million are currently living in tents or makeshift shelters, according to UN figures.

The building collapse comes amid continued violence despite a ceasefire agreed last October. Gaza health officials say more than 73,790 people have been killed since the war began following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.