Gaza building collapse kills at least 20, dozens more trapped under rubble

At least 20 people, including several children, have died after a war-damaged residential building in Gaza City collapsed early Wednesday morning, local authorities said, with dozens more feared trapped under layers of rubble. Search and rescue operations are underway at the site of the collapsed Al-Sa’ada building in the city’s Al-Rimal neighborhood, where around 100 people are missing, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense agency. The building, which is six stories high with four apartments on each floor, was targeted by Israeli airstrikes at the beginning of the war in Gaza following the October 7 attacks in 2023, the Civil Defense agency said. Hamas’ media office in Gaza said the building fell onto “dozens of displaced families who had been forcibly driven to seek shelter there, amid the complete absence of alternative and safe places of refuge.” It added that thousands of structurally damaged buildings across the Gaza Strip, many of which are housing displaced people, are at risk of collapse. “Since midnight in Gaza City a tragic, painful scene has unfolded: a brutal humanitarian event, as you can see in front of you under this residential building, where dozens of innocent people were trapped,” Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said Wednesday. “People woke up at 3 a.m. to screams and the crying of children who were inside after the building completely collapsed on them,” he added. “We warn of further collapses like this incident in the Gaza Strip, in the areas where citizens are now sheltering.” This is a developing story and will be updated.