Gaza Building Collapse Kills 21, Highlighting Housing Crisis

At least 21 Palestinians, including children, died when a seven-story building collapsed in western Gaza City on Tuesday night. The building, which had been previously attacked, was not struck by the Israeli military before its collapse. The incident has refocused international attention on the dire living conditions in the Gaza Strip, nearly a year after a ceasefire intended to initiate reconstruction.

Residents displaced by the collapse, or whose relatives perished, described their plight. "Now they lie in the street, homeless and with nothing. Even the clothes they wear are borrowed," said Umm Mohammed Adas, whose family members were affected. Others, like Ahmed Arafaat, spoke of their inability to afford alternative housing, stating, "We have no money to go elsewhere." Many are forced to return to damaged structures with warped floors and cracked ceilings, as they have no other shelter options.

This is not the first collapse of an unsafe residential structure in Gaza, but the high death toll underscores the danger in a territory where a vast majority of the population lacks adequate shelter. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, five shelters collapsed in the first week of September alone. The Palestinian Ministry of Public Works estimates over 2,000 additional buildings are at risk of collapse. A joint World Bank and UN damage assessment from April indicated that over one million people live in unsafe displacement sites, with 76% of housing units in the Strip damaged or destroyed.

Aid organizations, such as the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), report that the lack of alternatives forces residents to remain in damaged buildings. "People choose to stay in dangerous buildings because the idea of living in a tent is worse, and there is very little tent equipment if they want to leave these buildings," said NRC spokesperson Sheena Lowe. She added, "No tent equipment has entered Gaza. People are willing to take the risk because there is no suitable alternative."

The risk to damaged buildings is exacerbated by impending rains, which engineers and aid groups warn could further weaken structures through water penetration. The NRC's report noted that 72% of respondents live in damaged buildings, with 22% of structures in one surveyed Gaza City neighborhood at immediate risk of collapse. Aid groups are calling for Israel to allow the entry of construction materials, having reportedly denied requests for lumber and emergency shelter kits twice in late August and early September due to security concerns. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Israeli Territories (COGAT) stated that it "regularly facilitates and encourages the entry of shelter equipment into the Gaza Strip in coordination with international organizations," but expressed "real security concerns that Hamas could use some of the components intended for shelter construction to strengthen its capabilities and rebuild its terror infrastructure."