Gaza apartment block collapse leaves 20 dead, many missing

Gaza authorities said Wednesday that at least 20 people, including five children, had died and dozens more were missing after an apartment building collapsed from damage sustained in earlier Israeli strikes.

The six-story building crumbled overnight onto nearby homes and tents in the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City.

How many people died in the Gaza building collapse?

At least 20 people, including five children, have died after a war-damaged apartment building collapsed overnight in Gaza City's Tal al-Hawa area. Dozens more remain trapped beneath the rubble, according to the civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas authority. Rescue teams are searching the wreckage with limited equipment.

The building had four apartments per floor and stood six storeys tall before it fell onto nearby homes and tents. The vast majority of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed in Israeli strikes throughout the war with Hamas, according to the United Nations.

What caused the Gaza apartment building to collapse?

Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP the building had sustained structural damage from previous Israeli strikes, having been hit multiple times in 2024 and March 2025. Those strikes led to warnings for Gazans not to return to the building, 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.

The bodies of "20 martyrs have been recovered from the rubble," Basal said, adding that "dozens of people remain trapped beneath the debris." He said rescue operations were ongoing but relied on "limited equipment and basic tools, as the Israeli occupation prevents the entry of necessary heavy machinery and equipment into the Gaza Strip."

AFP journalists saw the collapsed 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 next to rows of tents for displaced people, while rescuers and volunteers carried out the dead wrapped in white plastic body bags.

"My friend and neighbours 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.

Why are Palestinians living in damaged buildings in Gaza?

With so many Palestinians left homeless, and major shortages of construction materials, many Gaza residents have taken the risk of moving into unstable buildings. Gaza's civil defence agency has identified around 2,000 buildings in the territory that it says are at risk of collapse. Israel has allowed additional aid into Gaza since the declaration of a US-brokered ceasefire in October 2025, but has kept carrying out strikes and has restricted the entry of a range of equipment that it says could also have military use.

The UN's humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Ramiz Alakbarov, said he was "devastated" by Wednesday's reports of the building collapse. "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 in a statement.

The Gaza government media office under Hamas pointed to delays in reconstruction of the enclave. "We hold the Israeli occupation and the international community fully and directly responsible for this catastrophe befalling our Palestinian people," it said.

How many people have died in the Israel-Gaza war?

Israel launched relentless strikes on Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack led by Hamas that killed more than 1,200 people, the deadliest attack ever against Israel, according to Israeli official figures.

The ensuing Israeli military campaign has killed more than 73,700 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.