Twenty Palestinians, including six children, have been killed after the Al-Saada residential building collapsed on residents and displaced families sheltering inside in western Gaza City, highlighting the increasingly perilous conditions faced by Palestinians living amid widespread destruction.

The building collapsed shortly after midnight in the Al-Sinaa area, according to Gaza Civil Defense. Rescue teams recovered the bodies of 20 people from the rubble, while dozens of others remain missing.

The Hamas Movement blamed Israel for the collapse, describing it as another devastating consequence of the war and warning that thousands of Palestinians remain exposed to similar dangers.

In a statement Wednesday, Hamas cited Gaza Civil Defense as saying that around 2,000 damaged and inhabited buildings across the Gaza Strip remain at risk of collapse.

The warning comes as widespread destruction of residential neighborhoods has left large numbers of Palestinians without safe homes. Many displaced families have been forced to seek shelter in damaged buildings because they have few or no alternatives.

For those families, damaged structures have become shelters of necessity rather than choice, leaving them vulnerable to further collapses while they struggle to find somewhere safe to live.

Rescue efforts hampered by shortages

The humanitarian danger has been compounded by severe shortages of heavy machinery and specialized rescue equipment, according to Hamas.

The movement said the lack of essential equipment is severely hampering Civil Defense teams attempting to reach people trapped beneath collapsed buildings and recover bodies from the rubble.

It called for the immediate entry of heavy machinery and rescue equipment into Gaza, saying rescue crews need the necessary tools to search destroyed buildings and save those who may still be trapped alive.

The movement also urged mediators, the US administration and international actors to take immediate action to facilitate the entry of rescue equipment and provide safe shelter for Palestinians who have lost their homes.

Hamas said its leadership had previously raised the worsening humanitarian consequences of the destruction with mediators and international parties.

No safe shelter for thousands

The collapse of Al-Saada has underscored the devastating housing crisis facing Gaza's civilian population.

Across the territory, residential buildings and entire neighborhoods have been destroyed or severely damaged, leaving displaced Palestinians to live in increasingly unsafe conditions.

The reported presence of thousands of people inside buildings at risk of collapse has raised fears of further civilian deaths, particularly as rescue teams lack the equipment needed to respond rapidly to major structural collapses.

For the families still waiting for news of relatives missing beneath the Al-Saada rubble, the disaster is a deeply personal tragedy. For thousands of other displaced Palestinians living in damaged buildings across Gaza, it is also a warning of the danger that surrounds them every day.

With safe shelter in desperately short supply and rescue capabilities severely constrained, Palestinians displaced by the destruction continue to face the devastating choice between remaining in unsafe structures and searching for safety in a landscape where secure shelter has become increasingly scarce. (ILKHA)