Funding shortfalls impede response to Gaza building collapse: UN

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Funding shortfalls and Israeli restrictions on the import of critical items are slowing down the response to a deadly Gaza building collapse, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.

Palestinian civil defense crews search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, Sept. 16, 2026. The death toll from the collapse of a residential building in western Gaza City rose to 21, including 11 children and six women, with more than 25 injured, local officials and residents said Wednesday. (Photo: Xinhua)

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and its partners visited the site of the collapsed building on Wednesday to assess the situation and mobilize a rapid response to support survivors.

OCHA said that search-and-rescue efforts were led by civil defense and supported by Egypt and teams from the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Civil defense teams had retrieved 21 bodies and rescued dozens of people with injuries. Dozens more had been helped out of the area overnight shortly before the collapse, when the building started cracking. Local health authorities said that 12 children were among those killed, according to OCHA.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, said in a statement that he was devastated by reports of people trapped under the rubble following the pre-dawn collapse of the war-damaged residential building in Gaza City.

Alakbarov called for urgent approval to allow additional heavy machinery, specialized equipment, engine oil and fuel into Gaza. He also said that tents, tarpaulins and other non-food items must reach the most vulnerable communities in the coming weeks.

In a social media post, the UNDP also called for sustained access to construction materials and transitional shelters to address unsafe buildings, manage debris, and provide safer alternatives for families.

"This tragedy highlights a wider risk," said the UNDP. "With the rainy season ahead, 330,000 families need dignified shelter, while already damaged structures face additional pressures. Responding when lives are at immediate risk is essential. But we must also act before the next emergency."

OCHA said that across Gaza, people are living in unsafe structures that have been damaged by hostilities, for lack of better options. People in tented displacement sites face poor conditions, including overcrowding and lack of privacy.

"Ahead of the rains during winter, the humanitarian community is supporting those who choose to relocate from such buildings, as well as from flood-prone areas," OCHA said.