Gaza Faces Winter Crisis as Damaged Buildings Threaten Lives

Gaza officials are grappling with a severe challenge in evacuating residents from buildings damaged during the recent conflict, a situation exacerbated by the tragic collapse of a residential structure last week. The collapse of the "Al-Saada" building in Gaza City on September 16th resulted in 21 fatalities and at least 45 survivors rescued from the rubble. Officials estimate that over two thousand buildings are at risk of collapse, with some having already fallen during previous winter storms, causing casualties.

Authorities in Gaza announced an emergency plan to evacuate residents from 255 buildings deemed highly unstable and to demolish them. However, the plan faces significant obstacles, including the refusal of some families to leave their homes, a severe shortage of funding, a lack of heavy machinery for safe demolition, and insufficient safe land for relocating displaced people. "These buildings are ticking time bombs," stated Hosni Muhanna, spokesperson for the Gaza City municipality, highlighting the imminent danger as winter approaches.

The reconstruction efforts in Gaza have largely stalled, with ongoing Israeli airstrikes continuing to cause casualties. The majority of buildings in Gaza were destroyed or damaged during the conflict. Palestinian and UN officials blame Israeli restrictions for the scarcity of heavy equipment needed for debris removal and reconstruction. Alessandro Marucchini, head of the UNDP office in Gaza, noted that the lack of equipment forced people to search for survivors with their bare hands after the Al-Saada building collapse and stressed the need for fuel and spare parts for existing machinery.

Engineers believe the Al-Saada building's collapse was due to structural weakness caused by damage to its concrete columns during the bombing. However, residents like Ferial Abu Ghanem, who lost her daughter-in-law in the collapse, stated that people have nowhere else to go. Bassam Nasser, a displaced person living in a nearby damaged building, expressed fear of a similar collapse, lamenting the lack of attention and dire conditions. Eyad Azzam, who lost his pregnant wife and young son, shared a video of his other son trapped in the rubble, illustrating the desperate situation of families living under precarious conditions due to the absence of viable alternatives.