Gaza Herald – The Government Media Office in Gaza has announced an urgent emergency plan to evacuate and demolish around 255 damaged buildings at risk of collapse, warning that they pose a serious threat to residents and displaced families living inside or near them.
The plan, led by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in coordination with government ministries, local authorities and international and UN organizations operating in Gaza, aims to reduce the risk of further collapses and provide safer conditions for affected families amid the Strip’s dire humanitarian situation.
Relevant ministries have been instructed to immediately begin implementing evacuation measures, including issuing formal notices to residents of unsafe buildings, placing warning signs around dangerous structures and working to provide temporary shelter for families forced to evacuate.
The plan is being coordinated by the ministries of Public Works and Housing, Social Development and Local Government, alongside the Civil Defense, Palestinian police and other government bodies. Field teams have also been tasked with documenting dangerous buildings, evacuations and measures taken to protect residents.
Government committees continue to assess damaged buildings and identify families living inside them. Social Development Ministry teams have already documented dozens of displaced families sheltering in buildings considered at risk of collapse.
However, authorities said the operation faces major obstacles, including some families refusing to leave dangerous buildings, severe funding shortages, a lack of heavy machinery needed to safely demolish unstable structures, and limited safe land where displaced families can be relocated.
An Egyptian committee involved in the emergency response has expressed readiness to provide transportation to evacuate displaced families from dangerous buildings and move them to designated shelters.
The Government Media Office called on families, community leaders, civil society organizations and the media to support the emergency plan and cooperate with field teams to prevent further humanitarian disasters.
21 Killed in Al-Saada Building Collapse
The emergency measures follow the collapse of the six-story Al-Saada building in Gaza City, which had been damaged during Israel’s war and was later used to shelter displaced families despite being unsafe.
The collapse killed 21 Palestinians and injured 45 others, according to the latest Civil Defense figures. Around 101 people, including many children, had been sheltering inside the building.
Following the disaster, officials and representatives from 35 international, UN and Arab organizations agreed during a high-level meeting in Gaza on Thursday to establish an emergency response plan for damaged buildings at risk of collapse.
The crisis is worsening amid a severe shortage of safe shelter and equipment needed to inspect, reinforce or safely demolish damaged structures, raising fears of further deadly collapses, particularly with the onset of winter.
