At least 12 Palestinians, including five children, were killed when a multi storey residential building collapsed in western Gaza City overnight, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence and local witnesses.
Six families were reportedly trapped beneath the rubble after the building came down. Rescue teams worked alongside residents, many of whom used their hands to dig through the debris because of limited heavy equipment.
Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed rescuers pulling children from the rubble. Witnesses said cries for help could be heard beneath the concrete as emergency crews searched for survivors.
Another video showed a young girl being rescued alive, while several other survivors, including children, were brought out and taken away by ambulance.
Local media reported that the building had previously been damaged by an Israeli airstrike, leaving it cracked and structurally weakened before its collapse.
Thousands of homes and apartment buildings across Gaza have been damaged or partially destroyed during the war, leaving many structures unsafe and vulnerable to further collapse.
Many Palestinians are living in makeshift shelters or damaged buildings, while restrictions on construction materials and shortages of heavy machinery have limited efforts to repair homes and safely remove rubble.
The lack of equipment has also forced civil defence teams to rely heavily on manual labour during rescue operations, making it more difficult and time consuming to reach people trapped beneath collapsed structures.
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