Rescue teams search for trapped Palestinians after building collapse in Gaza City

Palestinian Civil Defense teams are searching for Palestinians who remain trapped under a collapsed residential building west of Gaza City.

The building, which according to the Palestinian Quds News Network housed six displaced families, had previously been damaged by Israeli shelling.

Residents are clearing the rubble to reach a young girl who is trapped and can be heard crying. Several more children are among those still buried beneath the rubble.

Five killed, dozens missing after damaged Gaza City building collapses

Five Palestinians have been killed and dozens remain missing after a residential building housing displaced families has collapsed west of Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense.

The building had previously been damaged by Israeli shelling. Rescue teams are still searching the rubble for those trapped inside.

Death toll from Gaza City building collapse rises to eight

The death toll from the collapse of a building sheltering displaced Palestinians west of Gaza City has risen to eight, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense.

Dozens of people remain missing as rescue operations continue.

At least 10 bodies recovered from Gaza City building collapse, dozens missing

The death toll from a multistory residential building collapse west of Gaza City has risen to 10.

The building, which housed nearly 70 displaced Palestinians, had previously been damaged by Israeli shelling.

Rescuers have retrieved the body of a child who was killed in the collapse on Wednesday.

Palestinian Civil Defense teams are continuing to search for dozens of people unaccounted for.

Death toll from Gaza City building collapse rises to 11

The death toll from the collapse of a building sheltering displaced Palestinians west of Gaza City has risen to 11, including five children, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense.

Dozens of people remain missing as rescue operations continue.

The building, home to approximately 70 displaced Palestinians, had suffered prior damage from Israeli shelling.

At least 50 children among 100 trapped in collapsed Gaza building

According to a civil defense team we just spoke to, at least 100 Palestinians are still trapped beneath the building, including about 50 children.

According to rescuers, they have recovered 11 bodies and pulled 12 people out of the debris alive.

Everyone is trying to get whatever equipment they can to help retrieve the victims. The building was partially damaged by Israeli attacks, but Palestinians living there did not have any other choice but to shelter inside.

The building collapsed at about 1am while people inside were sleeping.

Rescuers frantically search for survivors after Gaza building collapse

Rescue efforts are being carried out in coordination with Gaza Municipality, the Egyptian Committee, the Arab Authority, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The UN Development Program is supporting search operations.

“Beneath this building there are about 100 bodies – or 100 people whose fate remains unknown,” a civil defense agency spokesperson told a news conference.

“We urgently call for the equipment needed for recovery operations,” the spokesperson said.

“About 2,000 buildings across inhabited areas of the Gaza Strip are in a similarly precarious structural condition with residents unable to leave them because of a lack of alternative shelter.”

‘We can still hear the voices of people alive beneath the rubble’

Rescue efforts in Gaza City are moving slowly because first-responders lack heavy equipment needed to save dozens of trapped Palestinians, an official says.

“We can still hear the voices of people alive beneath the rubble so there is still hope,” said Rayed al-Dahshan, director of Gaza’s civil defense agency in Gaza.

“We expect the rescue and recovery operations to take a long time because we are working with our bare hands, and the situation is extremely sensitive. The difficulties we face are because of the lack of resources. Civil defense needs heavy equipment so it can respond immediately.”

Gaza authorities blame Israel for deadly building collapse

Gaza’s authorities have blamed Israel for the deadly collapse of a building housing displaced Palestinians.

At least 12 people have been confirmed dead in the incident so far.

In a statement by the government’s media office, authorities said the building’s collapse “exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe” in the Strip.

“We hold the occupation and the international community fully responsible,” the statement read.

The building had been struck amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, and dozens of victims, including women and children, remain buried under the rubble, authorities said.

Across the Strip, the statement added, some 8,500 people remain missing under the rubble of collapsed buildings, while thousands continue to inhabit weakened structures.

“We call upon all countries of the world and international and UN organizations to intervene immediately to lift the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, open all crossings, and allow the immediate entry of rescue and civil defense equipment and supplies, in addition to all the urgent and essential humanitarian and relief needs of the Gaza Strip,” the statement concluded.

Gaza building collapse death toll rises to 14, including 5 children

The death toll from the collapse of a building sheltering displaced people in Gaza City has risen to 14, including five children, Gaza’s Civil Defense says.

Gaza Civil Defense warns of ‘certain disaster’ this winter after deadly building collapse

The Civil Defense has warned the Board of Peace and the countries guaranteeing the Gaza “ceasefire” that the territory faces “certain disaster” this winter, citing the risk of further building collapses.

The warning comes after a multistory building housing displaced people in Gaza City collapsed, killing 14 people.

A Civil Defense spokesperson said the building housed about 100 people, half of them children, all of whom are now unaccounted for. It said the building sheltered 10 families, forced to live there despite its unsafe condition because of Israel’s ongoing genocide.

The agency called for the urgent deployment of excavators and rescue equipment in the hope of finding survivors under the rubble, and warned that further collapses – potentially affecting dozens of cracked and damaged buildings – could occur as winter approaches.

Gaza building collapse death toll rises to 16

Gaza’s Ministry of Health says the collapse of a damaged residential building has so far killed 16 people and injured more than 25 others, with dozens of people still missing beneath the rubble. The total death toll from collapses of war-damaged buildings has now risen to 50, it said.

In its latest daily toll of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, the ministry said six people were killed and 71 injured over the past 24 hours.

‘Race against time’ after Gaza building collapse: UN

Alessandro Mrakic, UNDP director in Gaza, says teams at the scene of the building collapse in Gaza City are working alongside excavators to remove rubble.

“There are many voices coming from beneath the rubble, so we are in a race against time and are doing what we can. The equipment available is insufficient,” he said, adding the rescue effort is “a marathon operation”.

Mrakic said a UNDP damage assessment identified 400 buildings at risk of collapse following Israel’s genocidal war on the Strip.

“Considering the restrictions on space – where around two million people are living – people are returning to these buildings regardless of … lack of safety standards,” he said.

“Winter will come with rain, and we may see increased risks of these buildings collapsing,” he warned.

Mrakic called for the urgent entry of additional equipment and fuel. “All the contractors working with us today were suffering from fuel shortages and a lack of spare parts.”

‘Around 2,000 buildings across Gaza at similar risk’: Gaza health chief

Mounir al-Bursh, director-general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, tells Al Jazeera that the six-storey building, which collapsed on displaced residents and people in neighboring tents after being struck by nearby shelling, had previously sustained damage during Israeli bombardment.

Al-Bursh said about 100 people remained missing, with more than 75 names registered by relatives so far, including about 50 children.

He said some 2,000 buildings across Gaza were at risk of collapse. “We are in a brutal race against time, and every minute means another life lost,” he said.

“The voices of people calling for help can still be heard from beneath the rubble,” he added. “Rescue crews are working with extremely limited resources; we lack all the heavy machinery and equipment needed to lift concrete blocks and reach those trapped.”

Ten displaced families had been sheltering in the already partially collapsed Gaza building

The heavy equipment being used is the only equipment available in the Gaza Strip. The civil defense teams have been able to retrieve 16 bodies in the past seven hours. Those teams say that if they had had more equipment, they would have saved more lives

They say that there are at least 100 more Palestinians who are stuck in this building and trapped beneath the ceiling of the five-storey building. Ten displaced families had been sheltering in the already partially collapsed building. People say they have no other option now.

Civil defense teams, the United Nations Development Programme, the Ministry of Health – everyone is here working and trying their best to help rescue and retrieve as many bodies as possible.

‘We will lose dozens of lives’: Gaza official on delays to building rescue caused by Israeli blockade

Tayseer Mheisen, an adviser to Gaza’s Government Media Office, has told Al Jazeera that the collapse of a residential building in Gaza City was “a small-scale example” of a tragedy repeating itself across the territory.

“Israel consistently obstructs any UN or international intervention to bring in the most important equipment that could save victims’ lives beneath the rubble,” Mheisen said.

He said the six-storey building had 75 people still trapped beneath it, with 16 dead, including five children, recovered so far. “Entire families have been erased from the civil registry because they were all asleep in this building when it collapsed on them,” he said.

Mheisen added that about 2,000 buildings across Gaza were at similar risk of collapse, warning that “we are approaching winter, with everything that winter brings”. He said the international community had failed to act. “The truth is that this humanity has not taken even one step towards the single necessary action: pressuring Israel to open the crossings,” he said.

He said rescuers typically have about three days to find survivors alive, but that Gaza’s civil defense director had told him it could take “days, indeed weeks,” to reach victims. “That means we will lose dozens of lives,” Mheisen said.

Death toll from building collapse in Gaza climbs to 20

The death toll from the collapse of a building that housed displaced people in Gaza City has risen to 20, including 5 children.

UN humanitarian coordinator ‘devastated’ by Gaza building collapse

Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, says he’s “devastated” by reports of people trapped under rubble following the deadly building collapse in Gaza.

At least 100 people, including 50 children, had been living in the building when it collapsed.

Alakbarov commended the quick mobilization noting Egypt provided heavy machinery while the UAE and Qatar delivered humanitarian assistance.

Limited supplies in Gaza will go toward supporting survivors, he said, adding “lives may still be saved, every minute counts”.

Hundreds of damaged and unsafe structures from Israeli attacks are inhabited in war-battered Gaza, noted Alakbarov.

“No one should have to risk their life simply to find a safe place to shelter,” he said.

Very little footage of collapsed buildings is being seen by the public in Israel

The UN estimates that roughly 82 percent of structures across Gaza are compromised, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Palestinians being forced to shelter inside dangerous structures.

Yet from an Israeli perspective, there seems to be “no accountability”, with very little footage of collapsed buildings being seen by the public in Israel, Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador, said.

“It’s as if it’s just … happening light years away from here, which is tragic in and of itself, not just because of the plight of the Palestinians and the desperation that they are experiencing, but because this will impact Israel sooner or later,” he said.

Looking at the political context, Pinkas added: “There was supposed to be a ceasefire … almost limitless humanitarian aid, both medicine, food, and potable water, funneling into Gaza, and that’s not really happening.

“There was supposed to be an Israeli withdrawal from the 65 to 70 percent [of territory] it controls in Gaza, mostly northern and central Gaza; that hasn’t happened, and of course there was supposed to be a Hamas disarmament, and that hasn’t happened,” he said.

Around 100 people estimated killed, injured or missing in building collapse: Gaza Municipality

Gaza Municipality says that Gaza City and the Palestinian people “were devastated at dawn” by the collapse of the six-storey Al-Saada building in the southern Al-Rimal neighborhood, which it said had been damaged by earlier Israeli bombardment before collapsing onto displaced people sheltering inside and in neighboring tents.

The municipality said “initial estimates indicate that around 100 people have been killed, injured or remain missing, with the number potentially rising”.

In a statement, it said the incident “once again highlights the grave danger” posed by damaged buildings, “particularly as the rainy season approaches,” and extended condolences to the families of those killed while wishing the injured “a speedy recovery”.

The municipality warned of “dozens of damaged buildings at risk of collapse across the city’s neighborhoods, which directly threaten the lives of those sheltering in them who have no access to safe accommodation”. It urged the international community to “intervene urgently to provide mobile homes and essential supplies for safe shelter,” particularly before winter.

It also called for “rescue equipment and machinery” to clear rubble and address at-risk structures, and stressed “the need to provide construction materials to shore up buildings at risk of collapse”.

People in Gaza urgently need shelter and materials after building collapse: IOM chief

Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has said she was “devastated” by reports that dozens of people were killed or remain missing under rubble after a partially destroyed building collapsed in Gaza overnight.

In a post on X, Pope said people in Gaza urgently need shelter, tools and materials to begin rebuilding their lives safely, adding that continued access to aid is essential.

UNDP: 300,000 people still searching for proper shelter in Gaza

About 2,000 buildings in Gaza are in real danger of collapsing, with roughly 300,000 people still searching for proper shelter, according to Jaco Cilliers, special representative for the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People at the UNDP.

Speaking in response to reports that approximately 100 people are missing under the rubble of a collapsed building in Gaza City, Cilliers said, “This is a tragic situation, and our hearts go out to those families who have lost relatives already and those that are still under the rubble of damaged buildings.”

He said buildings will continue collapsing from prior damage as displaced residents seek “dignified shelters to return to their homes”, even when many structures are unsafe.

Cilliers said the UNDP is working to clear rubble but needs “the right equipment and mechanisms to remove them safely”, adding that damaged buildings require material, restoration and inspection by engineers before people can safely return, but that desperation is pushing people into dangerous situations.

Cilliers said nearly 10,000 people remain missing under the rubble across Gaza. While clearing roads for humanitarian access remains the programme’s main focus, he said, “We still find bodies on a regular basis.” Cilliers added that processes are under way to identify remains and ensure “dignified” burials observing religious customs.

Death toll in Gaza City building collapse rises to 21: Civil Defense

The Gaza Strip’s civil defense says in a statement on Telegram that the collapse of a residential building in Gaza City killed 21 people and injured 45 others.

Sudden cracks in the building’s structure appeared overnight, the statement said. The building – named the Saada, or “happiness” – was housing at least 100 displaced people.

Civil defense said that after retrieving 21 bodies from under rubble “after hours of intense effort”, the rescue operation has ended.

Palestinians wounded in Israeli shelling of Gaza’s Bureij camp

A number of Palestinians have been wounded in Israeli shelling of the Bureij camp in central Gaza, a medical source has told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

The Israeli military appeared to be targeting Palestinians filling water vessels at the camp.

Hamas confirms senior commander’s killing in Israeli strike

Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has confirmed the killing of a senior commander by Israel in a “cowardly assassination”.

“We mourn the martyr Nail Atiyah Muhammad Abu Obeid, commander of the Rafah Brigade, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tuesday evening,” it said in a statement.

Obeid joined the Qassam Brigades in 1993 and “participated in numerous significant operations”, it added.

“His blood has mingled with that of his people in the battle for liberation and emancipation from the occupation … It is a struggle of either victory or martyrdom,” said the statement.

Israeli double-tap strike kills 15-year-old and paramedic in Gaza

A 15-year-old boy has been killed in an apparent Israeli double-tap strike as he rushed to help a paramedic wounded in an attack moments before.

Israel has killed around one child per day in Gaza since the 2025 ‘ceasefire’.

Palestinian killed, two injured in Israeli shelling of Gaza City

Israeli shelling on the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City has killed one Palestinian and injured two others, a source in Gaza’s ambulance and emergency services said.

Israeli army says Hamas squad commander killed in strike on Khan Younis

The Israeli army says its forces killed a squad commander of the Hamas Nukhba Forces in a strike on Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a social media post, Israel’s army claimed, without providing evidence, that squad commander Jihad Ismail was a participant in the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

MSF says it treated 22 people injured by Israeli attacks in Gaza, including children

Doctors Without Borders (known by its French initials MSF) says it has treated 22 people injured by Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past week.

“Israeli air strikes continue to hit Gaza every day, killing and injuring people across the Strip”, MSF said in a statement posted on X.

MSF added that its teams in az-Zawayda hospital treated eight people wounded in an air strike on Wednesday, including three children. Yesterday, MSF said its teams treated three people, including two children.

“These attacks are part of a continuing pattern across Gaza. On 11 September, our teams at Al-Attar had treated 11 others injured in Israeli air strikes. On 13 September, an Israeli air strike hit a car next to an MSF bus transporting humanitarian workers, injuring one of our staff,” it added.

Gaza health system facing ‘total collapse’ amid fuel, medicine shortages: Health Ministry

Gaza’s Ministry of Health has issued an urgent appeal to the international community, warning that the territory’s health system is “on the verge of total collapse” amid what it called “shameful international silence”.

In a statement, the ministry accused Israel of exaggerating claims that it is facilitating the entry of medical aid, saying what is actually allowed in amounts to a negligible trickle that falls far short of hospitals’ minimum operational needs.

It said hospitals face a severe fuel shortage, with more than 70 percent of backup generators now out of service. A near-total halt to public transport, caused by the siege ban on spare parts and tyres, has also stopped hundreds of doctors, nurses and technicians from reaching their workplaces, further isolating health facilities.

The ministry also cited an acute shortage of medicines and medical supplies, breakdowns in diagnostic equipment, and blocked pathways for patients and the wounded needing treatment abroad.

It called on the UN Security Council, the World Health Organization and OCHA to act immediately, saying every minute without fuel and medical supplies risked more deaths, and demanded the unconditional lifting of the siege and the opening of crossings without conditions.

Gaza death toll nears 1,400 since October ceasefire: Health Ministry

The Gaza health ministry says that the number of Palestinians who have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 1,375 since a ceasefire agreed almost a year ago on October 11.

In its latest report dated September 15, the health ministry said that three people had been killed in the past day and that at least 27 others were injured.

Some 4,686 people have been injured since October 11, the ministry added.

Happened in the occupied West Bank

Violence has continued across the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces and settlers carried out raids, arrests, demolitions and attacks on Tuesday, according to the Wafa news agency.

Here are some of the reported incidents:

• Israeli forces shot and killed 54-year-old Ziad Mohammed Jaber during a raid in el-Bireh.
• Israeli forces arrested 31 Palestinians, including former prisoners and a journalist, in raids across the West Bank.
• In Jenin, 14 Palestinians were detained and questioned before being released.
• An elderly Palestinian couple were injured in a settler attack near Bethlehem.
• Settlers established a new outpost on land belonging to Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem.
• Settlers stole about 300 sheep and an Arabian horse from a farm in Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah.
• Settlers attacked Burqa, east of Ramallah, setting fire to structures and at least one vehicle.
• Israeli forces demolished two homes in Beit Hanina and eight residential and agricultural structures in Hizma.
• Israeli forces also bulldozed agricultural land near Hebron and uprooted olive trees in Arrabeh, south of Jenin.
• Wafa said 165 settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under Israeli police protection.
• Israeli authorities issued six-month bans preventing eight Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Europe faces questions over enforcing ban on Israeli settlement products

Country of origin: Israel. That’s what the dates sold by supermarkets in Amsterdam say. But how do we know they’re not coming from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory?

Eleven European countries have announced a ban on products from illegal settlements. The Dutch government says the ban is needed because the settlements violate international law and the Netherlands cannot contribute to an illegal situation through its economic activities.

Prosecutors say enforcement could be difficult. But customs documents obtained by researchers from the Global Legal Action Network show nine shipments of dates from the occupied Palestinian territory entered the Netherlands in the past six months, most labeled as coming from Israel.

Under the ban, settlement products would not be allowed into Europe. In the Netherlands, violations could mean up to six years in prison.

Activists, meanwhile, say the ban does not go far enough and should also cover services such as tourism. According to Amnesty International and other organisations, Booking.com is profiting from Israeli settlements.

The trade bans announced by the UK, Canada and several European countries are expected to increase pressure on more EU members to support a bloc-wide ban on settlement products, which activists say would be more effective.

European Commission chief condemns Israel’s E1 settlement project

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned Israel’s decision to continue the controversial E1 settlement project.

The government’s decision to move forward with the illegal settlement project is “unacceptable”, von der Leyen said.

“It is Europe’s role to keep the flame of a two-state solution alive,” she added, addressing European lawmakers at the annual State of the Union in Strasbourg.

Happened in the occupied West Bank

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports attacks by settlers and the Israeli military across the occupied West Bank this morning:

• Israeli forces arrested two teenage boys in Hebron after searching several homes.
• They stormed the town of Zaatara, taking up positions and raiding houses.
• Troops also entered the city of Nablus with armoured vehicles and spread out across several neighbourhoods.
• Settlers set a Palestinian home and an agricultural structure on fire and spray-painted racist slogans on the walls of houses in the village of at-Tawani, located in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron.
• Israeli forces rappelled from a helicopter onto the roof of a residential building during a raid in Yatta.

Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound

Settlers, escorted by Israeli troops, have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the Palestinian Wafa news agency has reported.

They entered the compound via the Mughrabi Gate and proceeded to pray and tour the compound, Wafa said.

Their presence came after settler groups earlier called on followers to participate in a widespread march on the mosque.

Al-Aqsa is considered a holy site for Muslims, Christians and Jews. Non-Muslims are permitted to visit the compound, but performing prayers is not allowed under a 1967 status quo agreement governing the site.

Happened in the occupied West Bank

The latest developments:

• Israeli soldiers close the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to worshippers for two days, citing Jewish holidays, according to our colleagues on the ground.
• Israeli forces demolish five concrete, tin-roofed homes belonging to Omar Adais and his sons, plus a prayer hall used by residents, in the al-Deesat community in Jiftlik village, north of Jericho, reports Wafa
• Settlers continue bulldozing and degrading Palestinian land in the Zubda area west of Nilin, near Ramallah, for a third consecutive day; forces raid homes of the town’s deputy mayor and two municipal employees for field interrogation, reports Wafa.
• Settlers attack a sheep pen east of Beita, south of Nablus, under army protection, as residents confront the attackers, reports our colleague on the ground.
• Settlers cut water lines, empty a water collection well used for daily needs and livestock, and destroy crops belonging to Jihad Musaeed, in Yarza al-Shamaliya, east of Tubas, reports Wafa.
• Israeli forces demolish a Palestinian home in Khirbet al-Hummus, in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, according to our colleagues on the ground.

Palestinian ministry condemns closure of Ibrahimi Mosque

The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs has condemned an Israeli decision to close the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to worshippers for two days, citing Jewish holidays, calling it part of an ongoing effort to seize control of the site.

The ministry said the mosque is “a purely Islamic site in all its corridors and courtyards” and described the closure as a flagrant violation of the freedom of worship guaranteed under international conventions. It called on international and human rights institutions to intervene urgently to halt what it called systematic violations and ensure Muslim worshippers’ access to the site.

Separately, the ministry condemned the demolition by Israeli forces of a prayer hall in al-Jiftlik village in the Jordan Valley, calling it “a heinous crime and a flagrant assault on the sanctity of a house of God”. It said the demolition was part of a continued campaign against Palestinian holy sites and efforts to pressure residents off their land.

The ministry said the prayer hall served local residents facing “exceptional conditions of daily restriction and targeting”. It called on international bodies to act to stop repeated violations against religious sites and practices.

‘Humanity must win’: Amnesty official condemns Israeli violence against Palestinians

Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, has expressed concern over “atrocities” committed by Israel against Palestinians, stating in a post on X that “genocide is genocide, ethnic cleansing is ethnic cleansing, apartheid is apartheid, and occupation is occupation.”

“Israel is committing all these atrocities against Palestinians,” Guevara Rosas said, adding that “we cannot look away.”

“We must all speak out,” the Amnesty International official said.

“Humanity must win,” she added.

Congresswoman says Gaza genocide will not end until US stops arming Israel

The genocide in Gaza will not end until the US Congress stops arming the Israeli government, Congresswoman Delia C Ramirez has said.

“We must pass my Block the Bombs Act!” the Illinois representative said in a post on X.

Ramirez’s proposed bill aims to impose a partial embargo on sending weapons to Israel. The bill has 73 co-sponsors as of June 2026.