On Wednesday, rescuers in Gaza searched through the ruins of a bombed residential building that collapsed during the night, killing at least 20 Palestinians, including children, while dozens more were trapped under the rubble.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians live in around 2,000 buildings damaged in Israeli airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip.
The Civil Protection of Gaza reported that at least 20 people, including six children, were killed and 14 injured in the collapse of a seven-story building. It is believed that there are almost 100 more people under the rubble.
In the video obtained by Reuters, rescuers can be seen trying to pull out two people from under the collapsed wall. Another video on social media shows a spokesman for the Gaza civil defense Mahmouda Basala how he carries a girl wrapped in a scarf stained with blood.
Director of the civil protection service of the city of Gaza Al-Dahshan row he stated that at least 10 families lived in the collapsed building and that there is still hope to find the survivors.
“We still hear voices under the ruins,” Dahšan said.
Alessandro Mrakichead of the UN Development Program (UNDP) office in Gaza, said that some UN agencies are participating in rescue operations, which he described as difficult due to the lack of adequate machinery. Pomoć provided by the Egyptian aid agency.
“As you can see, the situation is difficult because we don’t have the necessary equipment and machinery. So there are actually people digging with their bare hands,” said Mrakic. “There are approximately 400 buildings that are at risk of collapse. We know that these buildings will collapse, especially now that winter is coming,” he added, referring to the possible impact of the rain.
Palestinian officials and UN representatives blame the lack of heavy machinery on Israeli restrictions imposed on Gaza. Israel claims that these restrictions are in place to prevent the equipment from falling into the hands of militants.
Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas’ deadly incursion into Israel in October 2023, has created about 61 million tons of rubble and debris, which the United Nations estimates could take seven years to remove.
The cease-fire of October 2025, which was reached with the support of the USA, stopped the large-scale fighting in Gaza, but the Israeli attacks have not ended either, and progress towards lasting peace is very weak.