Gaza Building Collapse Kills 21 as US Plans $2.8bn Bomb Sale to Israel
September 16, 2026. A war-damaged building collapsed on sleeping families in Gaza City, the Trump administration moved ahead with a $2.8 billion bomb sale to Israel, and a Palestinian human rights lawyer was arrested at a Florida hearing on Israel Bonds. Here's each story in brief, with links to the original reporting.
US Moves Ahead With $2.8bn Bomb Sale to Israel
The Trump administration is pushing a $2.8 billion sale of bombs to Israel, funded through Foreign Military Financing, Al Jazeera reports. The package includes 40,000 bombs, among them 20,000 MK-84 general-purpose bombs, drawing criticism over civilian harm in Gaza.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Noura Erakat Arrested at Florida Hearing
Palestinian human rights lawyer Noura Erakat was arrested in Florida after speaking against a billion-dollar county investment in Israel Bonds at a public budget hearing. At least 100 residents protesting the investment were also made to leave, Al Jazeera reports.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Building Collapse in Gaza City Kills 21
A six-story building that had been damaged by earlier Israeli strikes collapsed overnight in Gaza City, killing 21 people, including 12 children, according to Gaza's Civil Defense and the UN. It had been sheltering displaced families, and rescuers said they did not have the equipment they needed.
Sources: Al Jazeera, OCHA
Schoolboy and Paramedic Killed in 'Double-Tap' Strike
A 15-year-old boy on his way home from school and a paramedic were killed in a repeated Israeli drone strike in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, Al Jazeera reports.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Egypt's el-Sisi Rejects Displacing Gazans
During a visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said Egypt firmly opposes any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, according to Wafa.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Guterres Warns Against West Bank Annexation
UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters in New York that the Gaza peace plan must be fully implemented with unrestricted aid and that the creeping annexation of the West Bank has to end.
Sources: OCHA
UN Warns Over Remains in the Rubble
UN rights chief Volker Türk criticized how rubble is being cleared in Gaza, warning that evidence of war crimes could be lost.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Rights Group: Violence Aims to Erase Palestinian Life
B'Tselem says settler violence, restrictions and land seizures form a deliberate campaign to dismantle Palestinian society.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Families Isolated in Qusra for Five Weeks
Three families in Qusra have been cut off for over five weeks since a settler outpost appeared nearby, the UN reports.
Sources: OCHA
The Wider Context
The truce reached in October 2025 ended the full-scale offensive but not the killing. Attacks continue, and restrictions on what can enter Gaza still block any real reconstruction. The recorded death toll in Gaza has passed 73,900, with more than 174,000 injured, according to the health ministry. Over 1,300 of those deaths have come since the truce began.
Sources: Al Jazeera, OCHA
The West Bank has seen its own escalation. UN figures show 275 Palestinian communities hit by settler attacks this year, close to last year's record and the highest since monitoring began in 2006. More than 1,100 Palestinian structures have been demolished this year for lacking building permits, displacing over 1,500 people, more than a third of the 4,300 Palestinians displaced in the West Bank in 2026. Almost every school in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed, and with more than 90 percent of buildings in ruins, people are living in structures that could come down.
Sources: OCHA
Aid agencies say the shortages are now structural, not temporary: without heavy machinery, fuel and engine oil, rubble can't be cleared, water systems can't be fixed, and search and rescue work drags on for days. At the UN, the two-state solution is still the stated goal of the Secretary-General and most member states, even as settlement expansion continues and Palestinian officials call it creeping annexation.
Sources: OCHA
Palestine News is published every day on Free Palestine Store. Each item recaps reporting from the named outlets in our own words; follow the source links for full coverage.
