Gaza building collapse highlights deadly civilian risks under ceasefire

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The collapse of a war-damaged Gaza City building that killed 21 people has underscored how the Israel-Hamas ceasefire has reduced large-scale combat without removing the physical dangers facing civilians in a territory where reconstruction remains largely stalled.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 21 people were killed when the multistory building collapsed Wednesday. The Associated Press reported that Israel continues to bar almost all construction materials from entering Gaza, making repairs difficult and forcing many residents back into damaged homes with weakened foundations and unstable walls.¹ The Washington Post reported that eight families had remained in the six-story al-Saada tower because even tents were scarce, and that rescue workers lacked heavy machinery and life-detection equipment as they searched the rubble.²

The disaster has renewed scrutiny of the ceasefire’s limits. It has eased the intensity of the war but has not resolved interlocking problems: aid access, Israeli security controls on dual-use materials, Hamas disarmament demands, unexploded ordnance, structural instability and the lack of safe housing alternatives.

Shelter shortage leaves few choices

Nearly a year after the ceasefire was reached in October 2025, many Palestinians remain displaced or are living in unsafe buildings. AP reported that more than 1 million people are in unsafe displacement sites, citing a joint World Bank and United Nations assessment, and that 76% of Gaza’s residential units had been damaged or destroyed.¹

Humanitarian groups say shortages of tents and basic shelter supplies are forcing people to weigh one danger against another: stay in cracked buildings that could collapse, or move to camps exposed to flooding, poor sanitation and disease. AP cited Norwegian Refugee Council surveys showing that 72% of respondents were staying in buildings with some damage, while a Gaza City neighborhood sample found 22% of buildings at risk of imminent collapse.¹

The Washington Post reported that the al-Saada tower had been damaged by an Israeli airstrike nearly three years ago but continued to house families because they had nowhere else to go. Civil defense workers and volunteers pulled 22 survivors from the wreckage, while 21 people were killed and 14 injured, according to authorities cited by the Post.²

Thousands of buildings remain at risk

The threat extends beyond one building. AP reported that the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said five shelters collapsed during the first week of September, and that the Palestinian Ministry of Public Works warned more than 2,000 additional buildings were at risk of collapse.¹

WAFA, the Palestinian news agency, also cited warnings that more than 2,000 damaged buildings across Gaza could collapse, many of them sheltering displaced Palestinians. It reported that rescue crews face shortages of heavy machinery and specialized equipment, and that 50 Palestinians had been killed in collapses involving buildings damaged during the war.³

Those risks are likely to rise with winter weather. Engineers and aid groups have warned that rain can seep into cracked concrete, exposed rebar and damaged foundations, further weakening structures. AP reported that a second Gaza City roof caved in Friday after a brief period of rain, lightly injuring four children.¹

Security restrictions slow repairs and rescues

Israel says it restricts certain goods because Hamas could divert them for military use. AP reported that Israel has long limited materials it considers “dual use,” including items aid groups say are needed for shelter, debris removal and reconstruction. COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing aid coordination in Gaza, said it facilitates shelter supplies but has “genuine security concern” that Hamas could use some shelter components to rebuild military infrastructure.¹

The Washington Post reported that heavy machinery is not currently authorized, according to the Israeli military agency managing goods entering Gaza. The Post also reported that emergency workers lacked basic tools, while U.N. Development Program officials called for lights, front loaders, excavators, cranes, trucks, generators, drills, cutters and cameras to support search-and-rescue operations.²

Aid groups argue that the restrictions have humanitarian consequences beyond reconstruction delays. Without excavators, cranes, debris crushers, spare parts and fuel, they say, collapsed buildings become deadlier, rubble removal slows and damaged neighborhoods remain hazardous.

Reconstruction tied to political dispute

The reconstruction bottleneck is also political. AP reported that Israel has said it will not permit rebuilding in Gaza until Hamas disarms, a condition that has left reconstruction plans stalled even after the ceasefire reduced the intensity of fighting.¹

That dispute leaves civilians exposed to structures weakened by bombardment, uncleared debris and unexploded remnants of war. Even where front-line fighting has eased, residents still face unstable buildings, poor sanitation, damaged infrastructure and limited access to medical and rescue services.

The humanitarian system is still operating under severe logistical constraints. UNOPS said its Gaza response includes aid logistics through the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2720 mechanism and, in its latest update, the Qatar-funded delivery of 1.3 million litres of fuel to help sustain health services and essential civilian infrastructure.⁵ Fuel, however, is only one part of a broader need that includes shelter materials, heavy equipment and safe access for technical teams.

Emergency plan seeks evacuations and equipment

After the al-Saada collapse, officials and representatives of international, U.N. and Arab organizations approved an emergency plan to address damaged and cracked buildings, according to the Palestinian Information Center. The plan calls for identifying dangerous structures, moving residents into shelter camps, and facilitating the entry of heavy machinery, equipment, fuel and lubricants needed to inspect, shore up, remove and manage unsafe buildings.⁴

The Palestinian Information Center reported that the six-story al-Saada building housed about 101 people at the time of the collapse and that the incident left 21 Palestinians dead and 45 injured, citing Civil Defense figures.⁴

For many Gaza families, the choices remain limited. The ceasefire has lowered the level of open warfare, but the collapse showed that war damage remains lethal when reconstruction is blocked, shelter is scarce and emergency crews lack the tools to reach people trapped beneath concrete.