Israel Damaged 82 Percent of Gaza’s Buildings. Collapses Are Burying Us Alive.

Por Shahad Ali — Truthout

Residents of the recently collapsed six-story high rise knew they were in danger but could find nowhere else to sleep.

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Khaled Al Soutari, who was inside the six-story residential building in western Gaza City that collapsed on September 16, is now sleeping on the street without a tent, devastated by the loss of 21 of his neighbors.

“They were more than just neighbors to me,” Al Soutari told me when I interviewed him two days after the building collapse, sitting on the street with a group of his neighbors next to the collapsed building. “They were my best friends. We shared food and laughter and had endless talks despite the harsh reality we were living through. It is hard for me to imagine life without them.”

Al Soutari told me that for more than six months, the building, which had previously been damaged by Israeli bombardment, had been weakening further because of wastewater seepage. The walls had also developed deeper cracks, and pieces of concrete had begun to fall. Then, one night, the building itself suddenly crumbled.

“We were sleeping when suddenly the ground started to shake as if an earthquake had hit. I started screaming at my wife and children to jump through a hole in the wall, but we could not because the building collapsed,” Al Soutari told me. “I found myself under the rubble within seconds, surrounded by the screams of my family and others shouting, ‘We are here. We do not want to die. Help us.’ I could not breathe or shout. For a moment, I thought this was the end.”

“Luckily, one of my neighbors noticed me and managed to free me from the concrete pressing on my back,” he continued. “However, my wife and my three children spent hours under the rubble before the Civil Defense intervened and managed to rescue them.”

Al Soutari added that his daughter, Sham, suffered a leg injury in the collapse and had to undergo surgery to have a plate inserted.

The municipality had inspected the building a few days before it collapsed and asked residents to leave, Al Soutari said, explaining that his family tried to do so, but they could not find any other place to go.

“I always talked with my neighbors who lived in the building about my fear that it could collapse on us at any moment, but we were helpless. We could do nothing but stay,” he told me.

“I don’t have a stable source of income,” he added. “I couldn’t even afford to buy a lighter to light a cooking fire for my family. I have been living on humanitarian aid for months. How can I buy a tent or rent a place to live?”

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, said that around 2,000 other buildings across the Gaza Strip are also at risk of complete collapse.

The Al-Sadah building had been home to dozens of displaced Gazans, despite its burned and cracked walls having long shown signs of severe structural damage. In addition to killing 21 people, including children, the collapse also injured 14 others. A total of 45 people were rescued from under the rubble, despite Gaza’s Civil Defense lacking the heavy machinery and equipment needed to clear the rubble and carry out search-and-rescue operations.

The collapse of the Al-Sadah building was not an isolated case. Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, said in a statement after the collapse of the Al-Sadah building that around 2,000 other buildings across the Gaza Strip are also at risk of complete collapse.

On September 18, another building also collapsed in the Al-Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City. Bassal released a statement saying that in that case, Civil Defense crews managed to reach the building and rescue five children who had been trapped inside. He also said they sustained minor injuries.

These incidents have heightened the fears of thousands of Gazans who have been left with no choice but to continue living in damaged buildings at risk of collapse. This danger could become even more serious as winter approaches, with heavy rain and strong winds potentially further weakening already damaged structures and causing them to collapse. The Health Ministry in Gaza said that, so far, 50 Palestinians have been killed in the collapse of war-damaged buildings across Gaza since Israel’s war began in October 2023.

Building collapse has become an acute danger throughout Gaza due to the unprecedented destruction caused by Israel’s war on Gaza, is estimated to have damaged up to 82 percent of the Strip’s structures.

This widespread devastation has been compounded by Israel’s strict restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery and rubble-clearing equipment into Gaza. Israeli authorities classify heavy equipment, including bulldozers, excavators, cranes, and crushers, as “dual-use” items that could be used for military purposes.

According to the United Nations, the destruction caused by the war has left an estimated 68 million metric tons of rubble across Gaza. So far, only about 310,000 metric tons, less than 0.5 percent, have been cleared. The Government Media Office in Gaza says the Strip needs at least 500 units of heavy equipment to reopen roads and remove the rubble. However, Israel has allowed only a small number of light machines to enter, many of them lacking spare parts and maintenance. The severe shortage has obstructed the first steps of the reconstruction process, from clearing and recycling rubble to extracting usable building materials and establishing temporary shelters for displaced Gazans.

Israel has also imposed restrictions on the entry of basic construction materials, such as cement, steel, and gravel, needed to begin reconstruction. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in August that Israel would not allow reconstruction in the Gaza Strip to begin before it is disarmed. Moreover, Israel has prevented the entry of materials that could provide Gazans with more durable shelter solutions, improve makeshift shelters, and enable emergency repairs to partially damaged homes.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli authorities twice rejected, for security reasons, a request submitted by the International Organization for Migration to coordinate the entry into Gaza of nearly 37,000 pieces of timber and 660 Emergency Shelter Kits through the Kerem Shalom Crossing on August 26 and September 2.

Across Gaza, finding a proper place to live has become increasingly difficult. More than 1 million Gazans are now forced to live in flimsy tents that offer little privacy or protection from the summer heat and winter cold. Even this option has become unaffordable for many. A tent can now cost $350, and even for those who can afford one, finding a place to set it up presents another challenge.

“How many of us have to die before the world sees us as human beings with rights and dignity?”

Israel now controls nearly 70 percent of the Gaza Strip within the so-called “Yellow Line,” forcing more than 2 million Gazans to live in roughly 30 percent of the territory. The resulting overcrowding has left displaced families with few places to set up their tents. Even when they find a place, many have to pay monthly rent for a small piece of land. For example, renting a tiny plot of bare ground on which to pitch a tent can cost $150 a month. Securing this amount of money is impossible for many in Gaza, as the war has destroyed livelihoods and pushed poverty to unprecedented levels.

Many families are left with no choice but to live in damaged buildings, many of which are at risk of collapse. Some Gazans often describe these buildings as potential “ticking time bombs” because of the severe danger they pose to those living inside them.

Even though Gazans understand the risks, many — like Al Soutari and his family — have no choice but to remain in many of these buildings. If they leave, they could be left on the streets with no shelter from the elements.

The risk of further building collapses that could endanger the lives of Gazans will persist unless the world pressures Israel to allow heavy equipment and machinery to enter Gaza, withdraw from the areas it has seized within the Yellow Line, and permit construction materials to enter immediately.

These measures are essential to enable Gazans to rebuild their destroyed homes and live normally without fearing that they could lose their lives simply because they are forced to live in or near dangerous buildings at risk of collapse, with nowhere else to go.

“How many of us have to die before the world sees us as human beings with rights and dignity?” Al Soutari asked in the wake of the collapse.

“Although my family and I survived, we are now literally living on the street with nowhere to go,” he told me. “I have no tent or space to set up my tent. We are really tired of this horrible life.”

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Shahad Ali is an English literature student and writer from Gaza.

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Fonte: Truthout