It was called "Saada," meaning "Happiness," and housed at least 100 displaced people. The six-story building collapsed instantly in the middle of the night , killing at least 21 Palestinians, including 12 children, in their sleep and injuring 45 others.

A tragedy that risks having a much heavier toll: at least 100 more people, half of them children, are thought to be trapped under the rubble.

The building, in the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City, was notoriously unsafe: it had suffered structural damage and tilted after an initial Israeli air strike in the early stages of the conflict. Despite the obvious danger, 10 displaced families had found shelter there to escape the terrible conditions in the refugee camps. What unfolded in the Strip is a foretold massacre, born of the extreme conditions in which the Palestinian population lives.

According to the enclave's Civil Defense, which operates under Hamas, cracks had appeared in the structure in the last few hours . The building had been hit several times between 2024 and 2025, and warnings had been issued in the past to residents not to return. But the refugees, explained Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal, ignored the warnings: "They have no other choice. Without tents or housing, they are living in damaged and damaged buildings, despite the risk of collapse."

Alessandro Mrakic, UNDP director in Gaza, explained that the severe shortage of building materials plaguing the Strip, which is gripped by Israel, is also pushing the structures toward unsafe conditions. Rescue teams have been working tirelessly since last night to rescue those trapped. Images show the entire building reduced to a huge pile of debris, with rescuers working with makeshift tools alongside residents digging with their bare hands.

The Red Cross, United Nations agencies, and Egyptian teams have joined the search, but UN officials have reported that the operation is slow due to a lack of adequate equipment . Israel continues to restrict the entry of various types of equipment it classifies as "dual-use," meaning potentially suitable for military use.

Hamas has appealed to the US to let in "relief equipment." "We're still hearing voices coming from under the rubble, so there's still hope of finding lives," Raed al-Dahshan, director of the Gaza City Civil Defense Department, told the BBC.

For the Gaza authorities, Israel bears moral responsibility for the collapse. "We hold the occupation and the international community fully responsible," they wrote in a statement, recalling that 8,500 people have been missing under collapsed buildings in the enclave since the beginning of the conflict, and thousands continue to live in unsafe structures. There are now fears for the coming winter, with rains that could further weaken already unsafe structures.

(Unioneonline)

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