Arabic version: انهيار مبنى في غزة يقتل ما لا يقل عن 20 شخصاً
According to BBC News, at least 20 people, including five children, were killed when a war-damaged six-storey building collapsed in the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City. Rescue teams said dozens more people were missing.
Videos showed rescuers searching the rubble for bodies and survivors. Local residents said about 10 families had been living in the apartments despite warnings that the building was unsafe. Civil Defence director Raed al-Dahshan said rescuers could still hear voices beneath the debris.
Members of the Hamas-run Civil Defence rescue service initially worked with “empty hands” because of restrictions on equipment entering Gaza, the report said. They later borrowed heavy machinery from UN agencies and Egyptian relief workers.
Alessandro Mrakic, head of the UN Development Programme Gaza office, said between 70 and 100 people were believed trapped under the rubble. He warned that about 400 other war-damaged buildings across Gaza faced an imminent risk of collapse, particularly as winter approaches.
The UN estimates that 80% of Gaza’s structures have been destroyed or damaged during the war. It says more than 1.9 million people have been displaced and 1.2 million are living in tents or makeshift shelters.
