A war-damaged building in Gaza collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, including children, and trapping many more beneath the wreckage, according to local officials.
The incident shines a light on the perilous conditions in Gaza after the devastating war that followed the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Officials have warned that many more buildings damaged in Israeli strikes are at risk of collapse. The lack of progress on reconstruction has forced residents to choose between living in seriously compromised buildings or in tents.
Dozens of people were living in the Saada residential building in Gaza City when it caved in at around 2 a.m. local time, according to the Civil Defense rescue service, which is part of the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza.
The officials added that the building had previously been hit by an Israeli strike, though it was unclear when. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.
Search-and-rescue teams pulled survivors from the wreckage on Wednesday morning as they searched for missing residents.
“We can see people still trapped under the rubble,” said Raed al-Dahshan, director of Civil Defense in the Gaza City area. “We’re doing everything we can to extract them.”
Mr. al-Dahshan said the authorities in Gaza had warned residents that the building was unstable, but that many did not leave because they did not want to be displaced and potentially end up in worse conditions. He added that there were roughly 70 buildings in the Gaza City area at risk of collapse.
One woman who was pulled from the rubble described the harrowing feeling of being in the building as it collapsed.
“I felt there was something that fell from below,” said Hayat al-Jabari, 37. “The building then fell all at once on us.”
Humanitarian groups warned that there could be more deaths in the coming months.
“With the heavy rains and winds of winter approaching, the risk of damaged buildings collapsing will only increase, putting more lives in danger,” Pat Griffiths, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said by telephone from Gaza.
“Choosing between life in a tent — with little privacy or space and exposed to harsh weather — or a building that is damaged and at risk of collapse, just to have a roof over one’s head, is not a choice any family should have to make.”
The deadly collapse underscores the devastation across Gaza after years of war, with Israeli strikes and street fights between Israeli forces and Hamas having left entire neighborhoods in ruins. Much of Gaza’s population was displaced by the conflict, and many are now living in damaged buildings.
After a U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement was reached in October 2025, Palestinians had hoped that Israel would allow a significant amount of heavy machinery and construction materials into Gaza to begin the long process of removing rubble and rebuilding the territory. Thousands of bodies from the war are still beneath the rubble across Gaza, according to local officials. On Tuesday, the United Nations human rights chief called for international investigators to be allowed into the enclave to recover the remains of Palestinians from beneath damaged buildings.
Efforts by President Trump’s Board of Peace and regional mediators to advance the cease-fire and pave the way for reconstruction have stalled. Israel has continued to target the territory, despite international pressure to halt its attacks there.
On Tuesday, an Israeli strike killed a Civil Defense worker and a teenager, according to an official in the rescue service. The Israeli military said it had been targeting Hamas militants, and that the attack was under review.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and Egyptian-backed rescue teams assisted local emergency crews on Wednesday in their search for survivors of the building collapse.
In a statement, Ramiz Alakbarov, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, urged international authorities to allow heavy equipment into Gaza to assist in search-and-rescue operations, along with humanitarian aid.
“Every possible effort must be made to save lives, protect people from further harm and provide families with safer places to live,” he said. “Every minute counts.”
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