Gaza Building Collapse Kills 21 as Shelter Crisis Deepens After Ceasefire

A multistory building collapsed in Gaza City on Wednesday, killing 21 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The incident has drawn fresh attention to the severe shelter crisis facing Palestinians nearly a year after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was meant to pave the way for reconstruction.

Talks on rebuilding have stalled, and many residents have moved back into homes damaged during the war despite the risks of weakened foundations and unstable walls. Um Mohammad Adas, whose relatives were among the dead, said the building had become a shelter of last resort. She described surviving family members as homeless and destitute, wearing borrowed clothes.

Others living in similar structures said they had no alternative. "We don't have money to go somewhere else," said Ahmad Arafat, standing on a rubble-strewn street near his home. Alam Zakout, who lives with his family in a damaged building, said there were no tents or basic necessities available. "Where am I supposed to go?" he asked.

The collapse was not the first involving unsafe dwellings in Gaza, but the high death toll underscored the dangers. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported collapses at five shelters during the first week of September. The Palestinian Ministry of Public Works said more than 2,000 additional buildings were at risk of collapse.

Israel has said it will not permit rebuilding in Gaza until Hamas disarms, leaving more than 1 million people in unsafe displacement sites, according to an April damage assessment by the World Bank and United Nations. That assessment found 76% of residential units had been damaged or destroyed, calling the loss of housing "catastrophic."

"People are choosing to stay in dangerous buildings because the idea of living in a tent is worse," said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council. She noted that no tent supplies are entering Gaza and that people are willing to risk their lives because there is no suitable alternative.

The council, which has long warned of the shelter crisis, said nearly three years of war have damaged more than 320,000 homes, affecting 1.7 million of Gaza's 2.1 million people. Its surveys found 72% of people are staying in damaged buildings, and in one sampled Gaza City neighborhood, 22% of buildings were at risk of imminent collapse.

Engineers and aid groups warn that damaged structures are especially vulnerable during bad weather, when rain can flood cracked concrete and exposed rebar. The council's report found 71% of those surveyed had experienced flooding since the start of the previous winter.

Aid groups have repeatedly called on Israel to allow more shelter and reconstruction materials into Gaza. They say Israel rejected the entry of timber and emergency shelter kits in late August and early September for security reasons. They are seeking timber, shelter kits, excavators, and other equipment to clear dangerous debris. Israel has long restricted materials it considers "dual use," saying they could be used by militants. COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing aid distribution, did not respond to questions about the denials.

The war began after the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. An October 2025 ceasefire reduced fighting intensity, but Israel has continued strikes, killing at least 1,375 people since the agreement, according to local health officials. The nearly three-year war has killed more than 73,821 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up about half the toll.