{"id":9149,"date":"2026-09-16T01:59:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7872505\/building-collapse-in-gaza-kills-16-as-perilous-conditions-persist-for-palestinians-during-truce\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T04:15:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T11:15:02","slug":"building-collapse-in-gaza-kills-19-as-perilous-conditions-persist-for-palestinians-during-truce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9149\/building-collapse-in-gaza-kills-19-as-perilous-conditions-persist-for-palestinians-during-truce\/","title":{"rendered":"Building collapse in Gaza kills 19 as perilous conditions persist for Palestinians during truce"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) \u2014 A building housing about 100 people gave out in Gaza City early Wednesday morning, killing 19 people as they slept and injuring 25, and leaving rescuers digging through rubble for dozens more who’d been sheltering inside the structure. <\/p>\n

The sudden collapse of the building, which was known to be unstable due to damage from Israeli strikes earlier in the war, underscored how perilous and desperate living conditions have grown for the majority of the enclave\u2019s population as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas stalls. <\/p>\n

The 19 dead include at least 13 women and children, according to Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry. <\/p>\n

The toll was expected to rise as more bodies were recovered from the wreckage. Around 100 people, including 50 children, were living in the building, said Ramiz Alakbarov, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n

All of Gaza’s roughly 2 million people now live in a stretch of land that makes up less than half of the territory. They remain dependent on aid and are surrounded by Israeli troops who carry out strikes or attacks on a near-daily basis. <\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Palestinian civil defense crews carry a body from the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jehad Alshrafi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s been no reconstruction work since the ceasefire was agreed to almost a year ago. Israel has said it will not allow any rebuilding until Hamas disarms.<\/p>\n

The level of destruction means Palestinians have been forced to choose between crowded tent camps or what’s left of the enclave’s damaged buildings. <\/p>\n

At least six displaced Palestinian families were living in the structure that collapsed early Wednesday despite knowing that it was teetering on the brink of collapse, according to Gaza’s civil defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of options and alternatives left them with no other choice,\u201d said Aboud Majdalawi, a rescuer with the force.<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the collapse, people were searching desperately for loved ones or their remains. <\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Palestinian civil defense crews search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jehad Alshrafi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A group of men were seen carrying the headless body of a child. Others sat atop a pile of rubble, pulling desperately at flashes of color they believed could be clothing worn by a survivor. All they found were dust-caked blankets wedged in the debris. <\/p>\n

The collapse comes as rescuers in the strip are trying to unearth hundreds of bodies from buildings collapsed by Israeli strikes earlier in the war with limited tools and only a handful of excavators. On Wednesday the U.N. human rights chief said he worried the bodies recovered so far are just the \u201ctip of the iceberg.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is heartbreaking that the loved ones of those missing for so long are only now having their worst fears confirmed,” he said. \u201cMuch of Gaza has been flattened by Israeli bombing or demolition and clearing by heavy machinery and explosives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite an October ceasefire<\/a> that has reduced fighting in Gaza, Israel has continued to carry out strikes, killing at least 1,375 people since the agreement went into effect, according to local health officials.<\/p>\n

The nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war<\/a> has killed more than 73,789 Palestinians, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It doesn\u2019t distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half of the toll.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Palestinian civil defense crews search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jehad Alshrafi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Palestinian civil defense crews search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jehad Alshrafi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

___<\/p>\n

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. AP writers Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) \u2014 A building housing about 100 people gave out in Gaza City early Wednesday morning, killing 19 people as they slept and injuring 25, and leaving rescuers digging through rubble for dozens more who’d been sheltering inside the structure. The sudden collapse of the building, which was known to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":9150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"1c5598d2-ff4c-4126-8d12-14a127f6e0f9","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Jehad Alshrafi, Wafaa Shurafa And Toqa Ezzidin ()","published":"2026-09-16 01:59:06","updated":"2026-09-16 04:10:41","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1737,1738],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-9149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9149\/building-collapse-in-gaza-kills-19-as-perilous-conditions-persist-for-palestinians-during-truce\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Building collapse in Gaza kills 19 as perilous conditions persist for Palestinians during truce","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9149\/building-collapse-in-gaza-kills-19-as-perilous-conditions-persist-for-palestinians-during-truce\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9149\/building-collapse-in-gaza-kills-19-as-perilous-conditions-persist-for-palestinians-during-truce\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-3b95514dc9c8e4a1b41e1190467ea5e2b7c5aefbef852825be405aea66cdca25.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-3b95514dc9c8e4a1b41e1190467ea5e2b7c5aefbef852825be405aea66cdca25.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNhome","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-09-16T08:59:06Z","datePublished":"2026-09-16T08:59:06Z","dateModified":"2026-09-16T11:15:02Z"},"rendered":"