Gaza, September 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
At least 21 people, including 11 children and six women, were killed after a six-storey residential building collapsed in western Gaza City, according to local officials and residents. More than 25 others were injured.
The Al-Saada building, which had previously been damaged in Israeli bombardment, collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday near the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Gaza Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said.
Residents said around 100 displaced people were staying in the building.
Basal said rescue teams worked for 16 hours, rescuing 45 people and recovering 21 bodies from the debris. Another 35 residents managed to escape the building following the collapse.
The disaster drew grieving relatives to the site, with some attempting to search through the rubble with their bare hands, Xinhua news agency reported.
Louay al-Ajla, 54, said he lost nearly 10 members of his family. “I received the news at dawn. It was devastating,” he said.
Palestinian authorities blamed restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery and rescue equipment for hampering the recovery operation.
The Hamas-run media office in Gaza said more than 8,500 missing people remained buried beneath rubble across the Gaza Strip, attributing the situation to difficulties in bringing heavy machinery and rescue equipment into the territory. It described thousands of damaged buildings as potential hazards.
Basal separately warned that more than 2,000 residential buildings were at risk of collapse as winter approaches. He called on the so-called “Board of Peace” and countries guaranteeing the ceasefire to facilitate the entry of the equipment required for rescue and recovery operations, warning of “imminent disasters.”
The latest collapse comes amid continued allegations of ceasefire violations and a lack of progress in negotiations between Hamas and Israel, despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025.
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