At least 21 Palestinians, including eight children, have died after a war-damaged residential building collapsed in Gaza City, while dozens of people are feared trapped beneath the rubble.
The six-storey building, located in the Tal al-Hawa area, had reportedly been badly damaged by an Israeli strike more than a year ago.
Residents said the structure had been visibly leaning to one side before it suddenly collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday.
Despite the danger, displaced families had continued to live inside the building because they had few alternatives for shelter.
Rescuers Search for Survivors
Emergency workers and local residents immediately began searching through the debris for survivors.
The Gaza Civil Defence initially relied on manual digging because of a shortage of heavy rescue equipment.
Raed al-Dahshan, the Civil Defence director in Gaza City, said rescuers could still hear voices beneath the rubble.
He said this gave emergency teams hope that some people could still be rescued.
United Nations agencies and an Egyptian rescue team have also joined the search operation.
Alessandro Mrakic, head of the UN Development Programme office in Gaza, estimated that between 70 and 100 people could be trapped beneath the collapsed structure.
He said the rescue effort was being slowed by a lack of machinery, equipment, spare parts and fuel.
Building Had Been Damaged for More Than a Year
Witnesses said the building had shown signs of instability for some time.
Mansour Abu Mohammed, who previously lived nearby, said stones had fallen from the structure regularly and that its tilt had become increasingly noticeable.
Another resident, Umm Mohammed Bakrun, described the moment of the collapse as resembling an earthquake.
Local residents said around 10 families had been living in apartments inside the building.
Satellite imagery reviewed by the BBC indicated that the surrounding area had been targeted during the early stages of the war, while visible damage to the building itself was documented in 2024.
Hundreds of Other Buildings at Risk
The collapse has raised further concerns about damaged structures across Gaza.
The UN has warned that around 400 other war-damaged buildings could be at risk of collapse, particularly as winter weather approaches.
UN humanitarian officials have called for additional heavy machinery to support rescue operations, along with tents, tarpaulins and other emergency supplies for displaced Palestinians.
Israel has said restrictions on certain equipment are intended to prevent items with possible military applications from reaching Palestinian armed groups.
According to UN estimates cited in the report, about 80% of structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the war.
The UN also says more than 1.9 million people have been displaced, with approximately 1.2 million currently living in tents or makeshift shelters.
