UPDATE - 18 Palestinians killed in building collapses in Gaza since ceasefire began

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, REVISES HEADLINE, DECK

By Betul Yilmaz and Nour Mahd Ali Abuaisha

ISTANBUL / GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – At least 18 civilians have so far been killed in Gaza after buildings damaged by Israeli attacks collapsed since a ceasefire that took effect more than two months ago, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

A ministry statement said that four people lost their lives in the collapse of a damaged building in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on Saturday, taking the toll of people killed in building collapses since Oct. 10 to 18.

It said that 46 damaged buildings have collapsed in several areas in Gaza since the ceasefire deal took effect.

The ministry said that harsh weather conditions raise the risk of building collapses in Gaza as Israel continues to block efforts to reconstruct the territory and prevents the entry of mobile homes into the enclave.

It appealed to the international community to take immediate action to allow the entry of building materials for rebuilding the Gaza Strip and providing shelter for thousands of displaced civilians.

Gaza Civil Defense said early Sunday that it had pulled the bodies of two children from the rubble and rescued five people alive, including a child and two women, from the rubble after the collapse of a building roof in the northern Gaza Strip. Two more people are still missing.

The organization added in a statement that the nine people were trapped after the roof of a three-story building collapsed in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 60% of homes, 80% of commercial facilities, and 65% of roads have been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli army in Gaza during the two years of genocidal war.

Thousands of Palestinians are believed to remain buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings since the start of the Israeli war on the enclave in October 2023.

The Israeli army has killed more than 70,900 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and injured nearly 171,200 others since October 2023 in a brutal assault that also left the enclave in ruins.