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In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a building damaged by Israeli strikes collapsed in Gaza, killing at least 21 people, including 11 children.

An estimated 100 people were living in the six-story building when it collapsed as residents were sleeping. Rescue teams worked to pull out dozens of people from the rubble in the hours that followed, their work made more difficult due to the lack of much-needed equipment.

Wednesday’s collapse is a reminder of the unliveable conditions in Gaza, in particular the lack of safe housing and absence of a rebuilding process amid Israel’s genocide. Though the collapsed building had previously been damaged by Israeli bombing, displaced families had moved in due to the lack of available options for shelter.

Gaza’s Civil Defense warned that 2,000 damaged buildings are currently sheltering people across Gaza, in unsafe conditions, due to a lack of safe alternatives.

“The building collapse in Gaza should be enough of a wake-up call for the international community to pressure Israel to allow reconstruction materials and caravans into Gaza,” Euro-Med Monitor stated on X. “Displaced Palestinians need safe places to live, and they need them now.”

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