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

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

Young Palestinians amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during the war at Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on August 5, 2026 [File: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters]

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.

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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.

据当地媒体报道，加沙的救援人员从倒塌的建筑物中救出幸存者，废墟下回荡着求救声。

2026年8月5日，在加沙地带北部贾巴利亚难民营，年轻的巴勒斯坦人在战争中被摧毁的建筑物废墟中。[图片：Mahmoud Issa/路透社]

据当地目击者和记者报道，加沙城西部一栋多层住宅楼夜间倒塌，造成至少 12 名巴勒斯坦人死亡，其中包括妇女和儿童，另有 6 个家庭被困在楼下。

加沙民防部门周三表示，至少有 12 人死亡，其中包括 5 名儿童。

以色列四轴飞行器在加沙城袭击民宅（共3条记录，第1条）

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半岛电视台核实的画面显示，救援队从废墟中救出幼童，与用手挖掘的居民一起工作。

据目击者和经核实的视频显示，在民防人员努力营救被埋在混凝土下的人们时，可以听到孩子们的求救声从混凝土下面传来。

另一段视频显示，一名年轻女孩从废墟中被救出，还有几名幸存者从瓦砾堆中爬出来，其中包括一些看起来气喘吁吁的幼童，随后被救护车送走。

当地媒体报道称，该建筑此前曾遭到以色列的轰炸，导致其出现裂缝，结构不稳，最终倒塌。

战争期间，加沙地带数千栋房屋和公寓楼遭到破坏或部分损毁，至今仍不适宜居住，并面临突然倒塌的风险。

由于以色列限制了修复所需的建筑材料以及民防队安全清理瓦砾和进行救援所需的重型设备的进入，许多巴勒斯坦人居住在巴勒斯坦领土上各处的临时住所和半毁的、先前被炸毁的建筑物中。

由于人手短缺，救援人员不得不主要依靠人力来营救被困在类似坍塌事故中的人员，从而延缓了紧急情况下的救援速度。