Gaza City building collapse kills 14, mostly women and children

A damaged building in Gaza City that was sheltering about six displaced families collapsed on Wednesday morning, killing at least 14 people and injuring 15, according to health officials in the territory.

Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry, said the dead included 12 women and children. The toll was expected to rise as rescuers continued to recover bodies from the wreckage.

The structure had been partially destroyed in an Israeli strike earlier in the war. What caused it to give way on Wednesday was not immediately clear.

Across Gaza, where the majority of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, dozens of multistory structures have collapsed over the course of the war, particularly during winter weather. Such collapses have become a major hazard, with displaced families often leaving tent camps to return to homes damaged by bombardment during nearly three years of fighting.

One man, Sherif Samoura, said his sister was among those killed. He recounted that she had sent him a message just a day earlier, saying debris was falling from the ceiling, especially near the entrance of the building.

"They could not find a tent or land, nor did they have the financial means to find housing. This was the last place they could turn to, despite the danger and their awareness that it would likely end in tragedy," he said. "A lack of resources drove them towards certain death."

He said he had urged her to come to him, offering her a place to stay for a few days until she found somewhere else. Then, at about 2 o'clock, he learned the house had collapsed on its occupants. He rushed to the hospital, where he found his sister dead.

Video from the scene showed people carrying bodies out of an ambulance and into a morgue, crowds gathering near wrapped remains laid on the ground, and a man carrying the partially covered body of a child out of the morgue.