Gaza civil defence says toll from building collapse rises to 20, including 5 children

Spokesperson says dozens of people remain trapped beneath the debris

PUBLISHED: Wed 16 Sept 2026, 2:15 PM

At least 20 people, including five children, died, and dozens remained missing on Wednesday after a Gaza apartment building collapsed from damage sustained in earlier Israeli strikes, the territory's civil defence agency said, giving an updated toll.

The bodies of "20 martyrs have been recovered from the rubble of a building that collapsed... Among the dead are five infants, while dozens of people remain trapped beneath the debris," said Mahmoud Bassal, the spokesperson for the civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority.