Gaza Public Works Gives Residents of Four Buildings Until 10 November to Evacuate as Collapse Risk Threatens Dozens of Families

Gaza Public Works: Four buildings at risk of collapse to be forcibly evacuated after 10 November to protect residents' lives

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in the Gaza Strip announced on Thursday that government bodies intend to carry out emergency forced evacuation procedures for four cracked buildings at risk of collapse in Gaza City, starting on 10 November, if residents do not respond to appeals for voluntary evacuation.

In a press statement, the ministry said the four buildings pose a danger to the lives of their occupants and to citizens in their vicinity, noting that its engineering and technical teams had conducted surveys and assessments of the damaged buildings and determined the measures needed to deal with each case according to its degree of danger.

It explained that the buildings concerned are the “Foura” building, the “Sayyam” building, the “Bayed” building and the “Najma” building, noting that attempts to persuade residents to evacuate voluntarily have so far not met with full response.

A final evacuation deadline

On the details of the buildings, the ministry said residents of the “Foura” building had officially agreed earlier to evacuate it and complete its demolition, but the families delayed carrying out the evacuation, prompting government bodies to move towards compulsory evacuation.

In the “Sayyam” building, it said four families had been living there, two of which evacuated voluntarily, while two families are still refusing to leave.

As for the “Bayed” building, its owner rents it out to between 8 and 10 families, according to the statement, which noted that the owner refuses to allow government teams to enter the building to count residents and assess its danger, despite residents being notified that it could collapse at any moment and warning signs being placed on it.

Regarding the “Najma” building, the ministry said about 10 families live in the building, while another 25 families live in its immediate vicinity, stressing that residents had been notified repeatedly of the need to evacuate without an actual response.

The ministry confirmed that residents of the four buildings have been given a final deadline until 10 November for voluntary evacuation and securing their belongings, after which forced compulsory evacuation procedures will begin for buildings whose residents have not responded.

It added that it is coordinating with the relevant authorities at the Ministry of Interior to follow up on the evacuation procedures, address their humanitarian and social repercussions, and work to provide the possible support for the affected families.

The ministry stressed that the evacuation decision comes, according to its statement, to avoid the dangers of building collapse and protect the lives of residents and neighbours, amid the exceptional conditions the Gaza Strip is experiencing.