War-damaged building collapses in central Gaza, killing two

A war-damaged building in central Gaza collapses, killing two, highlighting the widespread destruction that has left much of the Strip uninhabitable.

Reuters

5 January 2026 at 13:31:32

War-damaged building collapses in central Gaza, killing two

Palestinians at the site of a collapsed house that was damaged during the war by an Israeli strike, in the central Gaza Strip, January 5, 2026.

Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

Palestinians in Central Gaza gathered on Monday (January 5), at the site of a war-damaged building which collapsed killing two people, according to Gaza’s health officials.

The building had sustained damage during the war, said Karam al-Shanna, a relative of the victims. Al-Shanna added that people returned to live in the building because there ‘there was nowhere else to stay'

"There isn't a single stable house in the Gaza Strip, because every single one has been violently shaken (during the war). From an engineering perspective, Gaza is not a liveable place." added al-Shanna

According to the U.N. Satellite Center, 81% of Gaza’s buildings suffered damage or destruction during the war.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October after two years of intense Israeli bombardment and military operations in Gaza that followed a deadly attack by Hamas-led fighters on Israeli communities in October 2023.

Israel's assault on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 people, according to the enclave's health ministry. It was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

-Mahmoud Issa, Fadi Shana and Emilie Madi/Reuters