A six-storey residential building housing displaced families collapsed overnight in Gaza City's Tal al-Hawa district, killing at least 21 people including 12 children and leaving nearly 100 more feared trapped beneath the rubble [2][13][22]. The building, known as the Al-Saada building, had been damaged by earlier Israeli strikes and sheltered around 100 displaced people when it crumbled onto adjacent homes and tents shortly after 1 a.m. [15][23][29][39]. Rescuers dug with their bare hands through the night because heavy machinery remains barred from entering Gaza [6][9][24]. Gaza City civil defence director Raed Al-Dahshan said rescuers could still hear voices from beneath the rubble [7][11]. Gaza's civil defence agency later said the search operation was concluded after 45 injured people were taken to hospitals [6], with a civil defence official putting the number of people inside the building at 101 [39].

The collapse coincided with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's declaration that it is "only a matter of time" before Israel resumes full-scale war in Gaza and implements a plan to expel its Palestinian population [11][32]. Katz said the IDF is prepared to "finish the job" [11] and that "there is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration" [32][34]. Katz said the emigration plan would be implemented "by any means" once the US approves [32][34]. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel controls 60 percent of the Strip and will not withdraw [32], having ordered the military in May to seize 70 percent of Gaza [11].

Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said the building was hit multiple times in 2024 and March 2025, compromising its structure, and that rescue operations rely on limited equipment because Israel prevents heavy machinery from entering Gaza [10][13]. Hamas held the Israeli occupation responsible for the collapse, calling it a direct extension of its war of genocide, and called on mediators and the US administration to lift restrictions on heavy machinery and rescue equipment [3][12]. The Gaza authorities' press office said Israel and the international community bear full responsibility and cited 8,500 people missing under rubble across the territory [12][17]. The Palestinian government in Ramallah called on the international community to pressure Israel to allow rescue equipment and heavy machinery into Gaza, warning that every delay costs more lives [20].

Israel says its restrictions on heavy machinery are intended to keep equipment out of the hands of Hamas and other militant groups, citing Hamas's past use of such equipment for military purposes [6][9][24]. Israeli sources also accuse Hamas of violating the October 2025 ceasefire agreement [8][10][20]. Hamas counters that Israel is the party violating the truce and undermining efforts to implement the Trump peace plan, which includes an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas [8][10]. Israel says it has allowed additional aid into Gaza since the ceasefire took effect [13].

UNDP Gaza office head Alessandro Mrakic described the rescue as tragic for lack of equipment, with people "digging with their bare hands," and warned that approximately 400 other war-damaged buildings across Gaza are at imminent risk of collapse as winter approaches [6][9][24]. Gaza's Ministry of Public Works and Housing warned that more than 2,000 damaged but inhabited buildings are at risk [31][40]. UN Humanitarian Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov called for urgent Israeli approval of heavy machinery, specialized equipment, fuel, tents and tarpaulins within four weeks [6][21]. The Norwegian Refugee Council said Israeli authorities approved 36,960 pieces of timber and 660 emergency shelter kits in August but blocked their entry on 26 August and 2 September; secretary general Jan Egeland said "We need deliveries, not promises. And we need them before winter arrives." [19]

Survivors and relatives testified that the absence of tents or intact homes drove families into visibly cracked and tilting buildings they knew might collapse [6][13]. A resident identified as Sherif said his sister could find no tent or shelter and that "a lack of resources drove them towards certain death" [6]. Relative Ahmed Al-Ajla called the damaged structures "ticking time bombs" [13]. Resident Huzaifa Mohammed said pieces of stone and wall fall daily from damaged buildings and people ask where they should go [23]. Gaza resident Umm Yusuf Shabat rejected any emigration, saying "we were born and raised in Gaza, we will die and be buried in Gaza" [34].

The expulsion threats have drawn sharp international reaction. Eight Arab and Islamic foreign ministries — the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — have jointly condemned Israel's rejection of the Trump roadmap and held Israel fully responsible for any deterioration [41]. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attributed the hardening rhetoric of Israeli ministers to the country's election campaign and insisted on an independent Palestinian state as the only viable settlement [42]. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun has previously said "武力打不出和平，暴力换不来安全" (force cannot produce peace and violence cannot bring security), reaffirming Beijing's support for the two-state solution [46].

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee rejected the claim that there is any plan to displace people from Gaza against their will [43]. US Senator Chris Van Hollen condemned the plan, saying a prior Senate report already found the Netanyahu government was implementing ethnic cleansing of Gaza [34]. Separately, Israel's Channel 13 reported that senior IDF officers criticized a different Katz announcement — preparations for all-out war against the Palestinian Authority after a West Bank attack — as a dangerous statement that could inflame the situation [36]. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is expected to unveil a plan dubbed "Disengagement 710" that would remove Palestinians over seven years as part of his election campaign [34].

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the recovery of remains from Gaza's rubble raises serious questions about compliance with international law and that war crimes may have been committed [28]. Türk said the remains recovered may be only the tip of the iceberg and called for international investigators to be allowed into all parts of Gaza [28]. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor warned that Israel's large-scale rubble removal before forensic documentation risks erasing crime-scene evidence and the remains of thousands of missing Palestinians [35]. An interfaith coalition unveiled a 100-metre memorial shroud bearing the names of more than 20,000 Palestinian children killed in Gaza at the UN Church Center in New York, timed to the opening of the UN General Assembly [5].

The Hamas-run health ministry reports more than 73,790 people killed in Gaza since October 2023, with 1,369 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire took effect on 11 October 2025 [6][11][25]. The UN estimates Israel's assault has generated around 61 million tons of debris that could take seven years to clear [8][10]. Egypt has provided heavy machinery for the rescue operation, and the UAE and Qatar are set to deliver relief items [19][21]. Oxfam estimated Gaza's reconstruction will cost $71 billion — seven times all previous rebuilds combined — and called for all crossings to be opened unconditionally [27].