Gaza Building Collapse Death Toll Reaches 21, Including 12 Children
At least 14 others were injured following the collapse of a residential building housing displaced families.
The death toll from a building collapse in Gaza City has risen to 21, with 12 children among the fatalities, the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported on Thursday. At least 14 other individuals sustained injuries.
The high-rise residential building was accommodating a significant number of Palestinian families who had been displaced by the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. Its collapse on Wednesday morning triggered a large-scale search and rescue operation.
Officials indicated that a number of people remain unaccounted for beneath the debris. Gaza's Committee for the Reception and Recovery of Bodies stated on Wednesday afternoon that more than 60 individuals were missing.
The affected building is one of many in the Palestinian territory that have sustained damage from Israeli airstrikes during the war, which commenced after Hamas's attack into southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
A spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense, an agency operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, stated on Wednesday that approximately 2,000 buildings throughout the Gaza Strip are currently at risk of collapse. A United Nations investigation from 2025, utilizing satellite imagery, found that about 81% of all structures in Gaza had been damaged since the beginning of 2023. Furthermore, a separate UN report from April 2026 indicated that over 1.2 million people, representing nearly 60% of Gaza's population, had lost their homes.