Residential complex bombed by Israel suffers partial collapse in Gaza

ANKARA

An uninhabited residential complex that was bombed by the Israeli army suffered a partial collapse in northern Gaza, the Civil Defense Agency said on Wednesday.

No injuries were reported in the collapse that occurred Tuesday evening in Al-Karama neighborhood in Gaza City.

The agency said civil defense teams evacuated residents from three other buildings inside the complex that had suffered severe damage during the Israeli war on Gaza.

It warned Palestinians against getting close to the complex and urged displaced civilians living in tents nearby to relocate to remain safe.

The Gaza Strip has been reduced to a wasteland of wrecked buildings and piles of rubble by Israel’s brutal offensive that has killed more than 48,300 people, mostly women and children, since October 2023.

The Israeli war was brought to a halt under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in Gaza on Jan. 19.

Since the ceasefire deal took effect last month, tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to their areas, living in damaged buildings and tents near their destroyed homes.

According to Gaza local authorities, the Israeli army destroyed nearly 200,000 housing units across Gaza and severely damaged 100,000 others.

Palestinians accuse Israel of obstructing the entry of relief materials into Gaza, including 200,000 tents and 60,000 mobile homes, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.