At least 12 people, including children, have been killed and dozens remain missing after a war-damaged building collapsed in the Gaza Strip, according to local rescue teams.
The disaster in Tal al-Hawa, an area of Gaza City, has prompted an urgent search through the compressed remains of the multi-storey structure as families await news of those still trapped beneath the rubble.
Rescuers Search the Ruins of Tal al-Hawa
Video from the scene showed rescue workers combing through the building’s wreckage, where entire floors had been forced down on top of one another. The scale of the collapse has made the operation particularly difficult, with debris blocking access to apartments and leaving survivors increasingly hard to reach.
Local residents said 10 families had been living in the building despite repeated warnings that it was unsafe. Their accounts point to the acute shortage of habitable housing across Gaza, where years of conflict and the latest war have left many people with few alternatives but to occupy damaged properties.
The collapse has added to the mounting civilian toll in the enclave, where emergency workers have repeatedly warned that destroyed and weakened structures pose a continuing threat long after the strikes that damaged them have ended.
‘Empty Hands’ and a Shortage of Equipment
Members of the Hamas-run Civil Defence rescue service said their initial efforts were hampered by a lack of equipment. They described working with “empty hands” because of tight Israeli restrictions on the machinery and tools permitted into Gaza.
The service later managed to borrow some heavy equipment, improving its ability to remove concrete and search more effectively. Even so, rescuers face severe obstacles in a territory where damaged infrastructure, restricted access and continuing hostilities can delay life-saving operations.
Building collapses have become one of the grim features of the war’s aftermath. Homes, hospitals, schools and apartment blocks weakened by bombardment can remain unstable for months, placing residents at risk even when no new attack is under way.
Further Strikes Reported Across Gaza
As rescue teams worked in Tal al-Hawa, violence continued elsewhere in the enclave. On Tuesday, Israeli air strikes killed at least five Palestinians, including two children and a Hamas commander, according to health officials and Hamas sources.
The Israeli military said its forces had killed a Hamas commander in southern Gaza and another fighter in the north. In both cases, a child was also reportedly killed, according to the military’s account.
The separate incidents underline the difficulty of distinguishing between the immediate effects of bombardment and the longer-term dangers created by ruined buildings. In Gaza, the consequences of a strike can unfold hours, days or weeks later, as weakened walls give way and families return to homes that were never made safe.
Patient Killed at Charity-Supported Health Centre
In another reported incident, the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians said a patient was killed by an Israeli drone at a health centre it supports in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
The charity’s statement adds to concerns about the vulnerability of medical facilities and patients in areas where fighting and aerial surveillance remain persistent features of daily life. Health centres across Gaza have operated under extraordinary pressure, contending with damaged buildings, shortages of supplies and repeated threats to staff and patients.
Together, the reports present a picture of a civilian population exposed to danger from several directions: active strikes, unstable buildings and limited emergency capacity.
Why it Matters
The collapse in Tal al-Hawa is a stark reminder that Gaza’s war is not measured only by the number of bombs dropped or strikes launched. Ruined buildings remain silent hazards, and when families have nowhere safer to go, they become potential death traps. With rescuers short of equipment and violence continuing elsewhere, the disaster exposes a wider emergency in which survival depends not only on escaping the battlefield, but on finding shelter that can withstand the aftermath of war.