Gaza apartment block collapse leaves 20 dead, many missing

GAZA CITY

Rescuers excavate rubble to retrieve bodies from a collapsed building in the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City on September 16, 2026. (AFP Photo)

At least 20 Palestinians, including five children, were killed on Sept. 16 when a residential building housing displaced people that had been damaged during Israel’s attacks collapsed in western Gaza City, according to Palestinian sources.

Zaher Al-Wahidi, director of the Health Information Center at Gaza’s Health Ministry, said that 20 Palestinians were killed when the Al-Saada building in the city’s Al-Sinaa area collapsed.

Earlier, Gaza’s Health Ministry said in a statement that 16 people were killed and more than 25 others were injured in the collapse.

The ministry said the incident brought the total number of people killed in the collapse of buildings damaged during Israeli attacks to 50.

Palestinian Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said during a news conference at the scene that the building had previously been targeted by Israeli bombardment during the war before collapsing.

Bassal said around 100 people remained trapped under the rubble.

He warned that around 2,000 damaged buildings at risk of collapse remain occupied by residents and displaced Palestinians across the Gaza Strip.

Bassal called on the international community to provide the equipment and machinery needed to enable rescue teams to recover those missing.

Gaza Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj said during the news conference that the building’s collapse “warns of the danger of more damaged residential buildings collapsing.”

He stressed the need to allow mobile homes to enter Gaza before winter to provide alternatives for residents and displaced people.

The collapse came as Israel’s defense minister said on Sept. 16 that it was only a matter of time before the country resumes full-scale war in Gaza and moves to force out its two million Palestinians.

Israel Katz said 70 percent of Gaza had already been emptied of its population in the Israeli offensive.