Gaza residential building collapses, six families reportedly trapped

Rescue crews in Gaza pull survivors from a collapsed building as cries for help echo beneath the rubble, local media shows say.

A multi-storey residential building has collapsed overnight in western Gaza City, with six families reportedly trapped underneath, according to local witnesses and Palestinian journalists.

Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed rescue teams pulling young children from the rubble, working alongside residents who dug by hand through Wednesday morning.

According to witnesses and the verified footage, children’s cries for help could be heard from beneath the concrete as civil defence crews struggled to reach those buried inside.

Another video showed a young girl pulled alive from the wreckage, and several survivors emerging from the rubble, including young children appearing breathless, before being taken away by ambulance.

It remains unclear whether there have been any casualties.

There was no immediate statement from Gaza’s Health Ministry or the civil defence.

Local media reported the building had previously been struck in an earlier Israeli bombing, which left it cracked and structurally unsound before it collapsed.

Thousands of homes and apartment buildings damaged or partially destroyed during the war remain uninhabitable across Gaza and at risk of sudden collapse.

Many Palestinians are living in makeshift shelters and half-destroyed, previously bombed buildings across the territory, after Israel restricted the entry of construction materials needed for repairs, as well as the heavy equipment civil defence teams need to safely clear rubble and carry out rescues.

The shortage has left rescue crews relying largely on manual labour to reach people trapped in similar collapses, slowing response times in emergencies.