The plan, announced by the Gaza City municipality, targets the most vulnerable structures identified after more than 2,000 buildings were classified as at risk following a year of intensive Israeli bombardment and ground operations.
The Al‑Saada building in the Al‑Rimal neighbourhood collapsed in the early hours of September 16, trapping residents under rubble and resulting in 21 deaths and at least 45 survivors rescued by rescue teams.
Municipal spokesperson Husni Muhanna warned that many of the remaining damaged buildings are "ticking time bombs" as winter approaches, urging swift relocation to prevent further loss of life.
Implementation faces major obstacles, including a severe shortage of heavy demolition equipment, funding gaps, and a lack of safe land to house displaced families, according to Ismail Al‑Thawabta, head of the Hamas‑run Gaza government’s media office.
Some families have also refused to leave their homes despite warnings, fearing they have nowhere else to go, said resident Bassam Naseer, who lives in a nearby damaged building.
The United Nations Development Programme’s Gaza office chief, Alessandro Mrakic, said the scarcity of machinery forces residents to dig through rubble by hand and that oil and spare parts are urgently needed to keep existing equipment operational.
Israeli officials maintain that any military activity, including strikes on "terrorist infrastructure," is carried out with operational necessity, while Israel’s coordinating agency COGAT says heavy equipment will not be allowed into Gaza until Hamas disarms.
Humanitarian groups and Palestinian officials blame Israel’s blockade for the lack of reconstruction materials and machinery, a restriction that has stalled large‑scale rebuilding efforts even as more than two million people remain confined to a third of the enclave.
With winter weather set to worsen, authorities stress that the evacuation and demolition effort must be accelerated to avert further building collapses and protect the displaced population.