2 killed, 5 injured as building damaged by Israeli strikes collapses in central Gaza

By Nour Mahd Ali Abuaisha and Lina Altawell

GAZA/ISTANBUL (AA) – Two Palestinians were killed on Monday and five others injured in the collapse of a residential building damaged in earlier Israeli attacks in the central Gaza Strip, the Civil Defense said.

The agency said civil defense crews recovered the bodies of a father and his 8-year-old son from beneath a 4-story building that collapsed in the Maghazi refugee camp. Five other people were injured in the incident.

It said search operations continued for other people believed to be trapped under the rubble of the building.

According to the agency, the structure had sustained damage during earlier Israeli airstrikes and fully collapsed following renewed bombardment targeting the eastern areas of the camp.

In recent days, the Israeli military has intensified airstrikes and demolition operations in the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip, areas the army still controls under the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10.

On Sunday, the Palestinian group Hamas accused Israel of escalating home demolitions in eastern Gaza in violation of the ceasefire deal.

In December, dozens of residential buildings damaged in earlier Israeli strikes collapsed during a severe winter storm, killing and injuring several people.

Many Palestinians have been forced to shelter in structurally unsafe buildings due to widespread destruction across Gaza, while Israel has restricted the entry of mobile homes and construction materials needed for reconstruction.

The ceasefire halted Israel’s two-year war that killed nearly 71,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, injured more than 171,200 others, and left the enclave in ruins.