A war-damaged residential building in Gaza City collapsed early Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, including 11 children, according to local officials. The disaster highlights severe risks from compromised infrastructure and blocked reconstruction materials across the enclave, where thousands of displaced families continue to shelter in structurally unsafe buildings.
Al-Saada Building Collapse
The six-story al-Saada building in western Gaza City came down unexpectedly while about 100 people were sleeping inside. The structure had already sustained heavy damage from an Israeli strike earlier in the war. Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry, confirmed that at least 21 people died in the collapse, among them 11 children, while at least 14 were injured.
Displaced Families and the Search for Shelter
For families, moving into damaged structures has become a necessity due to a lack of available options for shelter. The building collapse in Gaza City came as thousands of Yemenis are displaced because of armed conflict there, alongside regional developments that included Saudi Arabia stating its defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone Tuesday evening before it entered the airspace over Mecca. Mecca’s security is “a red line,” military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said, adding that Saudi forces won’t hesitate to act against hostile and terrorist behavior.
Hayat al-Ajlah Hospital Search
In Gaza, Hayat al-Ajlah was leaning heavily on the arm of a relative while scanning the faces of the injured in a hospital. She was looking for her eight-year-old daughter, Dalia, whom she had not seen since they were pulled from beneath the rubble of the al-Saada building early on Wednesday. I woke up to check my phone,
the 37-year-old Hayat said. Suddenly, I heard a sound like something cracking. It felt like something was falling from underneath us.
Moments later, the building came down.
Hayat found herself trapped beneath the rubble, surrounded by dust and darkness, with family members screaming for help. I heard my 74-year-old father calling for my 12-year-old son Yasser. ‘Yasser, Yasser,’ he was calling, and then his voice disappeared,
she said. I panicked and started screaming for my four children.
For nearly an hour, neighbours and civil defence workers worked to pull Hayat, her children, and some of the other residents from the rubble. My father and mother’s voices disappeared because they were in the part where the floors collapsed on top of each other,
she said through tears. We were closer to the side of the building that tilted, so we survived by a miracle.
Nine members of Hayat’s extended family were killed, including her parents, four of her siblings, and three of her nephews and nieces. Her four children survived, though her daughter Dalia was taken to hospital with a serious head injury. Hayat noted that her mother had been afraid of the building.
Reconstruction Restrictions and Severe Equipment Shortages
Such incidents have become a major hazard in Gaza, where the majority of buildings have been damaged or destroyed. There has been no large-scale reconstruction work since the ceasefire from nearly a year ago, and Israel has said that it won’t allow any major rebuilding until Hamas disarms. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia blamed the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen for a drone that was intercepted while headed toward Mecca, though the militia denied it, and a U.N. health official warned about disease among displaced Yemenis.
Gaza Civil Defense and Euro-Med Monitor Statements
In Gaza, rescue teams worked to pull out dozens of people from the rubble in the hours that followed the Wednesday collapse, their work made more difficult due to the lack of much-needed equipment. Two thousand buildings damaged by Israeli bombing are currently sheltering people across Gaza. Gaza’s Civil Defense warned that these 2,000 damaged buildings are sheltering people in unsafe conditions due to a lack of safe alternatives. The building collapse in Gaza should be enough of a wake-up call for the international community to pressure Israel to allow reconstruction materials and caravans into Gaza,
Euro-Med Monitor stated on X. Displaced Palestinians need safe places to live, and they need them now.
Since the start of the genocide, approximately 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza, or around 90 percent of Gaza’s population, have been displaced—many of them multiple times. In August, the United Nations stated that approximately 82 percent of structures in Gaza—about 200,000 buildings—have been damaged, with two thirds of them completely destroyed. The United Nations added that the destruction of buildings has increased by nearly 10 percent since the so-called ceasefire began in October 2025.
По теме
