A war-damaged residential building collapsed in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa area overnight on September 16, 2026, killing at least 21 people, including 11 children. Dozens more remain missing under the rubble as rescue teams struggle with a severe lack of heavy machinery and fuel to clear the wreckage.
Overnight Disaster in Tal al-Hawa
The six-story residential structure in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City crumbled completely in the middle of the night, crashing down onto nearby homes and tent encampments where displaced families slept. The collapse killed 21 individuals, with children making up more than half of the confirmed fatalities at 11 victims. The civil defence agency, which works as a rescue service under Hamas authority, stated that the building featured four apartments per floor. Rescue workers searched through the rubble until determining the final death toll. Palestinians and residents were left trapping dozens under the rubble as emergency operations continued.
Local residents compared the sound and impact to a seismic event.
Umm Mohammed Bakrun, a resident living in a nearby tent, recounted that it felt like an earthquake with a loud sound that made it impossible to stand up, adding that stones rained down, a lot of dust was visible outside, and screams filled the air within minutes.
Another neighbor, Mansour Abu Mohammed, noted that the structure had been visibly leaning to one side for more than a year after sustaining damage from earlier Israeli military strikes during the ongoing conflict, dropping individual stones daily before its total failure. Witnesses noted that about 10 families lived in the building. Another local resident, Mohannad Al-Mashharawi, stated that his friend and neighbors lived in that building, explaining that he had come to help his friend retrieve some clothes and mattresses because he currently had no shelter or home.
Desperation and a Severe Lack of Rescue Equipment
Emergency response operations have been severely hobbled by infrastructure decay and supply shortages. Alessandro Mrakic, head of the United Nations Development Program Gaza office, told reporters that between 70 and 100 people were believed trapped underneath the debris.
The situation, as you see, is tragic because we don’t have the equipment and machinery that is needed. There are actually people digging with their bare hands… We need support, most importantly with machinery, equipment, among others. Our colleagues here don’t have [engine] oil and spare parts to continue to work with all the equipment that is still in Gaza. Alessandro Mrakic, head of the United Nations Development Program Gaza office
Raed al-Dahshan, director of civil defense in Gaza City, explained that desperate housing shortages left families with no viable alternatives.
We are still hearing voices from under the rubble, so there is still hope to find people. The limited availability of shelter options forced residents to move into this building, believing it was safe. However, at one point it collapsed entirely, tragically crashing down on people as they slept. Raed al-Dahshan, director of civil defense in Gaza City
Excavators bearing Egyptian flags were brought in to assist local rescue units, working alongside civil defense workers such as Aboud Majdalawi, who emphasized that the lack of options and alternatives left them with no other choice regarding living arrangements in structurally compromised edifices. A team from Egypt and some United Nations agencies joined the search for survivors, though officials noted the work moved slowly due to a shortage of equipment.
Broader Shelter Crisis Across the Enclave
United Nations agencies report that approximately 80% of all structures in Gaza have suffered damage or total destruction during the conflict. Out of more than 1.9 million displaced individuals, 1.2 million currently reside in tents or makeshift shelters. All of Gaza’s roughly 2 million people live in a stretch of land making up less than half the territory, remaining dependent on aid and surrounded by Israeli troops carrying out strikes or attacks on a near-daily basis.
United Nations human rights officials warned that the casualties recovered from this single collapse represent merely the tip of the iceberg. Relief organizations estimate that roughly 400 additional war-damaged buildings across Gaza remain at high risk of collapse as the region prepares for winter conditions, compounded by dwindling fuel supplies and a stalled ceasefire agreement.