Rescue operations at the site of a war-damaged building collapse in Gaza City, Sept. 16, 2026. (Credit: Dawoud Abu Alkas)
The death toll from the collapse of a building sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Tal al-Hawa area west of Gaza City now stands at at least 21, including 12 children, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense, which said it helped transport 45 injured people to hospital.
Yesterday morning, rescue workers had extracted 11 bodies, but the death toll continues to rise as approximately a hundred people, including at least 50 children, were trapped under the rubble and rescue operations continue.
Parts of the building collapsed onto nearby buildings and tents also sheltering displaced Palestinians. The building, home to approximately 70 displaced Palestinians, had sustained structural damage from Israeli shelling during its war on Gaza, civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP.
'No other choice'
The Gaza Civil Defense said its rescue teams, "after hours of arduous work... recovered the bodies of 21 people who had been trapped under the rubble."
Gaza's interior ministry and health ministry both gave the same toll, noting it included 12 children and five women.
The building was hit multiple times in 2024 and in March of 2025, leading to warnings for people not to go back, civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said.
"They have no other choice. With neither tents nor homes available, they are living in cracked, damaged buildings despite the risk of collapse," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, AFP footage showed the building reduced to an immense pile of shattered concrete, towering over a team of rescuers in high-visibility vests conducting a desperate search.
Excavators bearing Egyptian flags worked to remove the debris, while rescuers and volunteers carried out the dead.
"My friend and neighbors live in this building. I came to help my friend retrieve some clothes and mattresses. He currently has no shelter or home," Mohannad al-Mashharawi told AFP.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had supplied materials to help the search effort at the request of local authorities.
'Grave risks'
The total death toll from the collapse of buildings damaged by Israeli strikes throughout the war now stands at 50 people, the Civil Defense told Al-Jazeera, which also warned the "Board of Peace" and the countries guaranteeing the "cease-fire" in Gaza that the territory is heading for an "inevitable disaster" this winter, due to the high risk of further building collapses.
Nearly all of Gaza's population has been internally displaced and most of the territory lies in rubble. Israel's genocidal war has killed more than 73,700 Palestinians.
With so many Palestinians left homeless, and major shortages of construction materials, many Gaza residents have taken the risk of moving into the shaky buildings.
The U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Ramiz Alakbarov, said he was "devastated" by Wednesday's news.
"Today's tragedy underscores the grave risks faced by families living in these structures and the urgent need for safer alternatives. No one should have to risk their life simply to find a safe place to shelter," he said.
Gaza's civil defense agency has identified around 2,000 buildings in the territory that it says are at risk of collapse.
Israel has allowed limited additional aid into Gaza since the declaration of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in October 2025.
While the 11-month-old "cease-fire" has reduced the level of violence, Israel still regularly carries out strikes on Gaza, killing at least 1,375 Palestinians since the nominal truce went into effect.
Hamas said in late July that it was ready to disarm, in what Trump hailed as a breakthrough, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the latest stage of the plan and said there would be no military withdrawal from Gaza, using Hamas' weapons as a pretext for Israel's prolonged occupation.
