Gaza City building collapse kills 21, including 12 children

Gaza's civil defence agency reported Wednesday that at least 21 people, including 12 children and five women, were killed when a war-damaged apartment building collapsed overnight in the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City. The six-storey residential structure, which contained four apartments per floor, had previously sustained damage from Israeli airstrikes and crumbled onto nearby homes and tents, trapping dozens of residents beneath the rubble.

The building had been sheltering more than 100 displaced people who had fled their homes because of the ongoing conflict. Rescue crews worked for hours pulling survivors from the wreckage, often assisted by residents digging by hand through the debris. Journalists reported that verified footage showed children being pulled alive from the ruins, while cries for help continued to be heard from beneath the collapsed structure hours after it fell.

At Al-Shifa Hospital, journalists witnessed grieving relatives carrying children's bodies wrapped in white shrouds. Ahmed Al-Ajla, a survivor whose uncle died in the collapse, told reporters that "these buildings are nothing but ticking time bombs," highlighting the danger posed by structures left standing after months of bombardment. The United Nations has stated that the vast majority of buildings across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the conflict between Israel and Hamas.