Civil Defence teams in the Gaza Strip have warned that more than 2,000 damaged buildings are at risk of collapse, as thousands of displaced people are forced to live in homes at risk of falling down and weakened by bombardment, with the rainy season approaching and potentially causing soil erosion and undermining building foundations. The teams described these homes as “suspended graves” for their residents.
Lack of alternative shelter worsens the danger posed by damaged buildings
The risks are increasing as winter approaches, while Israeli forces are preventing tents, mobile homes known as caravans and construction materials from entering, alongside the shrinking geographical area available to displaced people after large parts of the Strip were carved off. This is limiting their ability to leave damaged buildings and find alternative shelter.
Civil Defence figures indicate that more than 2,000 buildings across the Gaza Strip require urgent intervention and removal. In Khan Younis Governorate alone, in the southern Gaza Strip, teams counted 474 damaged buildings and said 330 required complete demolition, while 145 needed partial demolition.
Civil Defence counts buildings at risk of collapse
A Civil Defence spokesperson said the teams had issued field warnings calling on residents to evacuate these buildings, but that residents’ response had remained almost non-existent because safe alternatives were unavailable. The spokesperson added that the area available in Khan Younis had shrunk to about one-third of its original size after Israeli forces took control of parts of its eastern and southern areas. This has been compounded by the concentration of displaced people arriving from Rafah and other areas in the al-Mawasi and al-Maaskar areas.
Civil Defence teams are also suffering from an acute shortage of heavy equipment needed to remove dangerous buildings, clear rubble and reduce the threats surrounding residents. The Strip has recorded several incidents involving the complete or partial collapse of damaged homes that had previously been hit by Israeli bombardment during the war. The most prominent of these was the collapse of the al-Saada building in Gaza City last Wednesday, which resulted in the deaths of 21 Palestinians.
Displaced people face repeated collapses and a lack of alternatives
Displaced people say they are living in homes housing more than 60 people despite damage to their columns and the appearance of cracks, and despite receiving official warnings that they must evacuate. Residents say they returned to these buildings after repeated displacement, in some cases as many as 60 times, while seawater swept away tents in which they had been staying on the shore.
According to residents’ testimonies, bulldozers and excavators operating nearby, along with explosions and Israeli bombardment near the “Yellow Line” and Salah al-Din Road, are causing adjoining buildings to shake and parts of their walls and roofs to fall. The sites of the reported bombardments are between 600 and 700 metres away, while stray bullets and shells continue to reach open areas.
The options available to displaced people have diminished as the al-Mawasi area has become full and overcrowded. Some are also living in rooms covered with zinco sheets, which are galvanised iron panels, or tarpaulins that allow water and wind to seep through and cannot withstand storms and repeated explosions.
With rainfall expected to begin in October, Civil Defence is warning that soil erosion beneath foundations, buildings becoming saturated with water and the resulting increase in their weight could lead to successive collapses. The teams and displaced people have renewed their calls for temporary solutions to protect residents from dying beneath the rubble, and for pressure to be applied to allow tents and heavy equipment to enter before the danger worsens.
The Government Media Office in Gaza has repeatedly said that Israel is failing to fulfil its obligations under the ceasefire agreement in force since October 2025, particularly by not allowing the agreed quantities of aid, fuel needed for vital sectors and heavy machinery to enter.
Since the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 174,000 injured, while about 90% of the Strip’s infrastructure has been destroyed.
