From under the rubble of the collapsed building, “20 martyr bodies were pulled out (…). Among the dead are five infants, and dozens of people remain trapped under the debris,” said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the civil defense service operating as rescue forces under Hamas rule.
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The six-story building, which had four apartments on each floor, collapsed during the night onto nearby houses and tents in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, the civil defense service reported.
M. Bassal told the AFP news agency that the building had suffered structural damage during Israeli strikes.
The building was shelled several times in 2024 and March 2025, so Gaza Strip residents were warned not to return to it, he added.
“They have no other choice. Without tents or homes, they live in cracked, damaged buildings, despite the risk of collapse,” said M. Bassal.
The vast majority of buildings in the Gaza Strip were damaged or destroyed during Israeli strikes, according to the United Nations (UN).
Israel began relentless strikes in the Gaza Strip after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, during which, according to official Israeli data, more than 1,200 people were killed, marking the deadliest attack against the Jewish state.
During the subsequent Israeli military campaign, more than 73,700 people were killed, according to the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health, operating under Hamas rule, whose data the UN considers reliable.
Since so many Palestinians have been left homeless and building materials are in severe shortage, many Gaza Strip residents are forced to live in dilapidated buildings.
The civil defense service in Gaza has identified about 2,000 buildings that, according to it, are at risk of collapse.
The Gaza government media office under Hamas drew attention to the delayed reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
“We hold the Israeli occupation and the international community fully and directly responsible for this disaster that has befallen our Palestinian people,” the statement said.
Israel allowed additional aid into the Gaza Strip after US-mediated ceasefires were announced in October 2025.
However, Israel continued strikes and restricted the import of various equipment that it claims could also be used for military purposes.
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