Residential Building Collapse in Gaza Kills 14 Following Prior Israeli Strikes
Photo: Collected
At least 14 people, including five children, were killed Wednesday when a multi-storey residential building collapsed in the devastated Gaza City, according to the local civil defense department.
The structure was sheltering Palestinian families who had been displaced by Israeli military operations and was previously damaged in earlier strikes, leaving it in a highly vulnerable condition. Eyewitnesses and local residents reported that members of at least six families were trapped under the rubble as rescue operations got underway. Personnel operating at the scene told Al Jazeera that roughly 100 people, including about 50 children, remain trapped beneath the debris.
Gaza authorities squarely blamed Israel for the collapse, issuing a statement from the government media office holding the occupying forces and the international community fully responsible. The statement emphasized that the incident has further intensified the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the region.
Israel launched an all-out war on Gaza on October 7, 2023. Despite a current ceasefire, military actions and casualties have not stopped in the enclave, deepening the severe humanitarian crisis. According to United Nations figures, 92 percent of residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed in the conflict, forcing millions of displaced Palestinians to live in tents or makeshift shelters.
