At least 12 dead as Gaza building collapses, many trapped under rubble

At least 12 Palestinians including women and children have died after a multi-storey residential building collapsed overnight in western Gaza City, with six families reportedly trapped underneath, according to local witnesses and journalists.

Gaza’s Civil Defence said on Wednesday at least 12 people died, including five children.

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

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.

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.