300,000 PEOPLE STILL SEARCHING FOR PROPER SHELTER IN GAZA: UNDP

Sat 19 September 2026:

Around 2,000 buildings in Gaza are in real danger of collapsing, with roughly 300,000 people still searching for proper shelter, according to Jaco Cilliers, Special Representative for the Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People at the UNDP.

Speaking in response to reports that around 100 people are missing under the rubble of a collapsed building in Gaza City, Cilliers said: “This is a tragic situation, and our hearts go out to those families who have lost relatives already and those that are still under the rubble of damaged buildings.”

He said buildings will continue collapsing from prior damage as displaced residents seek “dignified shelters to return to their homes,” even when many structures are unsafe.

Cilliers said the UNDP is working to clear rubble but needs “the right equipment and mechanisms to remove them safely,” adding that damaged buildings require material, restoration and inspection by engineers before people can safely return, but that desperation is pushing people into dangerous situations.

Cilliers said nearly 10,000 people remain missing under the rubble across Gaza. While clearing roads for humanitarian access remains the programme’s main focus, he said: “We still find bodies on a regular basis.” Cilliers added that processes are underway to identify remains and ensure “dignified” burials observing religious customs.

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People in Gaza urgently need shelter and materials after building collapse: IOM chief

Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has said she was “devastated” by reports that dozens of people were killed or remain missing under rubble after a partially destroyed building collapsed in Gaza overnight.

In a post on X, Pope said people in Gaza urgently need shelter, tools and materials to begin rebuilding their lives safely, adding that continued access to aid is essential.

Around 100 people estimated killed, injured or missing in building collapse: Gaza Municipality

Gaza Municipality says that Gaza City and the Palestinian people “were devastated at dawn” by the collapse of the six-storey Al-Saada building in the southern Al-Rimal neighbourhood, which it said had been damaged by earlier Israeli bombardment before collapsing onto displaced people sheltering inside and in neighbouring tents.

The municipality said “initial estimates indicate that around 100 people have been killed, injured or remain missing, with the number potentially rising”.

In a statement, it said the incident “once again highlights the grave danger” posed by damaged buildings, “particularly as the rainy season approaches,” and extended condolences to the families of those killed while wishing the injured “a speedy recovery”.

The municipality warned of “dozens of damaged buildings at risk of collapse across the city’s neighbourhoods, which directly threaten the lives of those sheltering in them who have no access to safe accommodation”. It urged the international community to “intervene urgently to provide mobile homes and essential supplies for safe shelter,” particularly before winter.

It also called for “rescue equipment and machinery” to clear rubble and address at-risk structures, and stressed “the need to provide construction materials to shore up buildings at risk of collapse”.

‘Around 2,000 buildings across Gaza at similar risk’: Gaza health chief

Mounir al-Bursh, director-general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, tells Al Jazeera that the six-storey building, which collapsed on displaced residents and people in neighbouring tents after being struck by nearby shelling, had previously sustained damage during Israeli bombardment.

Al-Bursh said about 100 people remained missing, with more than 75 names registered by relatives so far, including about 50 children.

He said some 2,000 buildings across Gaza were at risk of collapse. “We are in a brutal race against time, and every minute means another life lost,” he said.

“The voices of people calling for help can still be heard from beneath the rubble,” he added. “Rescue crews are working with extremely limited resources; we lack all the heavy machinery and equipment needed to lift concrete blocks and reach those trapped.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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