At least 11 Palestinians were killed and 14 others injured after a six-story residential building collapsed in the al-Sina’a area, southwest of Gaza City, burying residents and displaced Palestinians sheltering nearby.

Dozens of people are still believed to be trapped beneath the rubble as rescue teams struggle to reach survivors amid a severe shortage of heavy machinery and specialized equipment in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The residential building had previously been damaged by Israeli shelling during the war, according to local residents. Cracks and structural damage had reportedly weakened the building before it collapsed.

Rescue crews began working early Wednesday to search through the rubble and evacuate those trapped beneath the ruins. Residents said more than 60 people, most of them displaced Palestinians, had been staying in or around the building.

The collapse also crushed tents erected nearby to shelter Palestinians who had been displaced by Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza.

The latest deaths have added to the mounting Palestinian toll since the ceasefire that took effect on October 11. According to local authorities, 1,375 Palestinians have been killed and 4,686 injured since the ceasefire began, while 831 bodies have been recovered from beneath the rubble.

The figures underscore the continuing deadly consequences of the destruction left behind by Israel's war on Gaza, with damaged buildings posing an ongoing threat to Palestinians who have been forced to return to or shelter near heavily damaged areas.

Since Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, the overall Palestinian death toll has risen to 73,789, while 174,798 people have been injured, according to Gaza health authorities.

Large areas of Gaza remain buried beneath the ruins of destroyed and damaged buildings. Rescue operations continue to be severely hampered by shortages of fuel, machinery and essential equipment, leaving families searching through rubble with limited means to locate relatives and survivors.

The latest building collapse highlights the long-term human cost of the destruction inflicted on Gaza, where Palestinians continue to face the consequences of damaged homes and infrastructure even after the ceasefire. (ILKHA)