Gaza City Building Collapse Kills 21, Injures 14 as Rescuers Search Rimal Rubble

Al-Sa’ada collapses in Gaza

A damaged, six-story apartment building in Gaza City collapsed early Wednesday, killing 21 people and injuring 14, as rescue workers searched the wreckage for survivors amid a lack of heavy machinery and life detection equipment.

The Washington Post reported that the al-Saada tower had been damaged by an Israeli airstrike nearly three years ago and that “the al-Saada tower, home to 80 people, began groaning shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday.”

ABC News said the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip updated the death toll to 21 and that at least 12 children were among the dead, while at least 14 others were injured.

In the Rimal neighborhood, Gaza’s Civil Defense said the building collapse prompted a major search and rescue operation, with a number of people thought to still be missing beneath the rubble.

Egypt Independent reported that the search and rescue operations were underway at the site of the collapsed al-Sa’ada building in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, where around 100 people were missing, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense agency.

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Rescue limits and competing tolls

Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said, “We do not have the necessary equipment,” explaining that Civil Defense members transported survivors to hospitals for treatment. Al Jazeera reported that rescue teams ended search operations on Thursday after pulling 45 people alive from the rubble and finding 21 others killed, including 8 children, while Mahmoud Basal said about half of the wounded were children. The Washington Post described search efforts that strained to hear cries because workers lacked life detection equipment and dug with their hands over more than 15 hours to pull 22 survivors from the wreckage.

Egypt Independent quoted Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal saying, “People woke up at 3 a.m. to screams and the crying of children who were inside after the building completely collapsed on them,” and warned of further collapses like this incident. In a separate account, Al-Khaleej said 21 bodies were recovered in an initial toll, while 20 people were found alive and about 100 remained trapped under the rubble.

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Shelter crisis and equipment barriers

The collapse sharpened attention on Gaza’s shelter crisis, with Sky News Arabia describing that a halt to major battles does not necessarily end the danger because cracked buildings weakened by bombardment remain a threat above families with nowhere else to live. Sky News Arabia said bulldozers cleared rubble to prepare the area for setting up tents, while residents searched stones for belongings and food, and it described two harsh choices for residents: stay in a tent that lacks protection and privacy or return to a cracked home that could become rubble at any moment. The Washington Post said Israeli restrictions on imports mean emergency responders lack even basic equipment, hampering search efforts when disaster strikes, and it quoted Cilliers saying, “Lack of access to this machinery and equipment means lives lost.”

Egypt Independent reported that Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for occupied Palestinian territory, called for “urgent approvals” to be granted for the entry of heavy machinery, engine oil and fuel into Gaza. Mabhouh, 33, told the Washington Post she decided to stay in her damaged building because “There can be bombing at any moment,” and she said, “We don’t see that there is a ceasefire,” while ABC News said the building had been housing a large number of Palestinian families displaced by the war between Hamas and Israel.

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