Building collapse in Gaza kills 21 as perilous conditions persist for Palestinians during truce

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A building housing dozens of people collapsed in Gaza City early Wednesday morning, leaving rescuers clawing with bare hands through rubble until determining that 21 people, including 11 children, had been killed in their sleep.

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's population as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas stalls.

The 21 dead include at least five women and 11 children, according to Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry.

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.

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.

There's 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.

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.

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.

"The lack of options and alternatives left them with no other choice," said Aboud Majdalawi, a rescuer with the force.

In the aftermath of the collapse, people were searching desperately for loved ones or their remains.

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.

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 "tip of the iceberg."

"It is heartbreaking that the loved ones of those missing for so long are only now having their worst fears confirmed," he said. "Much of Gaza has been flattened by Israeli bombing or demolition and clearing by heavy machinery and explosives."

Despite an October ceasefire 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.

The nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 73,789 Palestinians, according to Gaza's 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't distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half of the toll.

Contributing: Toqa Ezzidin and Julia Frankel

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