Gaza City Building Collapse Kills 21, Including 11 Children (2026-09-16)

A residential building in Gaza City collapsed early Wednesday morning, killing 21 people, among them 11 children and five women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. At least 14 others were injured, and rescuers said they had finished digging through the rubble by Wednesday afternoon.

The structure, which had been weakened by damage from Israeli strikes earlier in the war, was sheltering about six displaced Palestinian families. Residents were aware the building was unstable but had nowhere else to go.

"The lack of options and alternatives left them with no other choice," said Aboud Majdalawi, a rescuer with Gaza's civil defense.

Witnesses described the collapse as sudden. Haiat Jabari, who lost multiple family members, said she felt something give way all at once before the building came down with them inside. She found herself and her children trapped under the debris and began calling for her father, who was also buried. She said she lost her father, mother, brother and three sisters, while her children survived with injuries.

Another survivor, Jamal Abu Ras, said he never expected to live. His wife was asleep beside him when the building fell; she was killed, while he survived. Their son, who lived with them, was wounded and remained in critical condition.

In the aftermath, relatives searched desperately for loved ones or their remains. Men were seen carrying the body of a child. Others pulled at scraps of color in the rubble, hoping to find clothing worn by survivors, but recovered only dust-covered blankets.

The collapse has drawn attention to the broader humanitarian situation in Gaza, where roughly 2 million people now live in less than half of the territory, dependent on aid and surrounded by Israeli troops. No reconstruction work has taken place since a ceasefire was agreed to almost a year ago. Israel has said it will not permit rebuilding until Hamas disarms, and only a handful of the dozens of excavators requested by aid groups have been allowed in. COGAT, the Israeli military body coordinating aid, did not respond when asked whether machinery would be permitted to assist with the collapse.

Rescuers in Gaza are also trying to recover hundreds of bodies from buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes earlier in the war, working with few functioning excavators and a dwindling fuel supply. On Wednesday, the U.N. human rights chief said he feared the bodies recovered so far represented only the "tip of the iceberg," adding that much of Gaza has been flattened by bombing, demolition and clearing operations.

Despite the October ceasefire that reduced fighting, Israeli strikes have continued, killing at least 1,375 people since the agreement took effect, according to local health officials. The nearly three-year war has killed more than 73,789 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up about half of the toll.