Gaza building collapse
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on September 15 that Israeli bulldozers continued to level areas of Gaza still under Israeli military control 'with no respect for the dead under the rubble,' as the discovery of what he called 'extensive' human remains -- many belonging to women, children and entire families -- heightened concerns that evidence of potential war crimes was being destroyed. Israel's war has generated roughly 61 million tonnes of wreckage, which the UN estimates could take seven years to clear; despite an October 2025 US-brokered ceasefire, Israeli strikes have continued, killing more than 1,300 Palestinians since the truce took effect. Palestinian Civil Defence has recovered more than 630 bodies and remains from beneath destroyed buildings since November 2025, while authorities estimate more than 8,000 people remain buried in the debris; on September 6, Palestinians in northern Gaza held funerals for about 100 people, including 60 children, whose remains had just been recovered. Turk reiterated concerns that Israel's use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas failed to adequately distinguish civilians from combatants.
Follow this story on the globe
As it ran
16 September 2026
- At least 12 dead as Gaza building collapses, many trapped under rubble Al Jazeera
- Gaza building collapse kills 14, traps dozens under rubble Al Jazeera
- Gaza building collapse kills 16, traps dozens under rubble Al Jazeera
- Gaza building collapse kills 20, traps dozens under rubble Al Jazeera
- At least 12 killed after war-damaged Gaza building collapses BBC News
- Eight children among 21 killed after war-damaged Gaza building collapses, rescuers say BBC News
- At least 20 killed after war-damaged Gaza building collapses BBC News
- Gaza building collapse kills at least 21, traps dozens under rubble Al Jazeera