By Nourdine Jamal, APAN’s Correspondent in Gaza
Image: Nourdine Jamal
24 September 2026
Today, an entire building in Gaza collapsed.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said more than a dozen people were killed, while another 50 to 80 remained missing beneath the rubble. Rescuers are still searching, working with basic equipment to pull people from the ruins.
But beneath the rubble is another story: Where were these people supposed to go?
They had been warned that the building was unsafe. Yet leaving was not as simple as walking away. In Gaza, where homes have been destroyed or severely damaged and displacement camps offer little protection from heat, cold, rain, or disease, many people have nowhere safe to go. A fragile home, however dangerous, can still feel like a better option than a tent that is barely livable.
And when a building collapses, survival can depend on what happens in the minutes and hours that follow. Civil Defense teams need heavy machinery to reach people trapped beneath tons of concrete. When that equipment is unavailable or cannot enter Gaza, rescuers are left searching through enormous piles of rubble with whatever basic tools they have.
For the people trapped underneath, every hour matters.
Image: Middle East Media
These were not people who simply chose to live in a dangerous building. They were people living with an impossible choice: risk staying in a damaged home, or leave for a tent that may offer no real safety either.
In Gaza, displacement has turned even the question of where to live into a question of survival.
For now, pain
“We do not want her condition to get worse,” she said. “If Sila does not receive treatment now, she may suffer for the rest of her life.”
Translated by Nourdine Shnino