Gaza authorities said an earlier Israeli strike damaged a residential building that later collapsed, killing 21 Palestinians, including 12 children, Wednesday.
Key Takeaways
- Gaza’s Government Media Office said Israel directly bombed the Al-Saada building on October 9, 2023, severely damaging its foundations and lower floors.
- The building collapsed on Wednesday, killing 21 Palestinians, including 12 children, and injuring another 45.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry said 61 Palestinians have now been killed in collapses of war-damaged buildings, with dozens more structures at risk.
Gaza Rejects Israeli Denial
Gaza’s Government Media Office rejected on Monday an Israeli military denial that it had previously targeted the Al-Saada residential building, which collapsed last week, killing 21 Palestinians.
The Israeli army said Wednesday that it had not attacked the building during the war. “Contrary to the claims, the IDF did not strike the building in question during the war,” it claimed in a post on X.
Gaza’s Government Media Office disputed that account, saying the building was directly struck by Israeli occupation forces on October 9, 2023, two days after the beginning of the war.
“The bombardment targeted the building’s foundations and its first and second floors, causing severe and deliberate structural damage to its infrastructure and main foundations,” the office said in a statement cited by Anadolu news agency.
🚨🎥 “Half an hour ago, there were still voices coming from inside this building. But unfortunately, the resources we have are not sufficient to reach them.”
At least 21 Palestinians, including 12 children and five women, were killed and 14 others injured after a six-story… pic.twitter.com/SsAjDCBZrH
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) September 16, 2026
“This previous and concentrated bombardment was the real and direct cause of the building’s complete collapse,” it added.
According to the media office, engineering inspections, documented field reports and testimony from residents supported its account of the earlier strike.
It described the Israeli denial as “a desperate and blatant attempt to evade legal responsibility” and accused Israel of pursuing a “systematic policy of disinformation” over the consequences of its attacks in Gaza.
12 Children among 21 Killed
The Al-Saada building collapsed in the Al-Sinaa area of western Gaza City on Wednesday.
Twenty-one Palestinians, including 12 children, were killed and another 45 were wounded, according to official figures.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the disaster brought the number of Palestinians killed by the collapse of buildings damaged during the Israeli war to 61.
The Government Media Office held Israel “fully and directly responsible” for the Al-Saada collapse, linking it to the broader destruction of civilian buildings and infrastructure throughout the Strip.
It also warned that the danger extends far beyond a single building.
“Dozens of other damaged residential buildings were at risk of collapse, threatening Palestinians and displaced people after their structures and foundations were damaged during the Israeli war on Gaza,” the office said.
Palestinians Forced to Shelter in Damaged Buildings
Since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025, dozens of damaged buildings have collapsed while Palestinians continued to shelter inside them because of the severe shortage of alternative accommodation.
War-Damaged Gaza Building Collapses, Killing Nine as Dozens Remain Trapped
Israel has restricted the entry of prefabricated housing units, while Gaza continues to face shortages of adequate tents and other shelter materials.
Palestinian authorities, UN agencies and humanitarian organizations have repeatedly called for the entry of shelter supplies and heavy equipment needed to address dangerous structures and remove rubble.
The Government Media Office called on international institutions and human rights organizations to document the Al-Saada collapse and similar incidents and pursue accountability through international legal mechanisms.
More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 174,000 wounded since October 2023, while around 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to official Palestinian figures.
(PC, Anadolu, Telegram)
Trump did this.
OUR piece of sh!t President, Dondolf Twitler, did this with OUR money and weapons. He is a disgrace and needs to be impeached and charged with consecutive life sentences for all the people who died in Gaza and all the children from the Minab school in Iran, anyone who was murdered by OUR military. We The People are guilty by association because we didn’t prevent it.
Arrest Trump, Biden, Obama…any living POTUS, and lock them up for life. Arrest any US soldier who went to Gaza or Iran and killed innocent people, jail them, strip them of all wealth, let them rot for what they did.