Gaza building collapse kills at least 20, dozens more trapped under rubble

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At least 20 people, including several children, have died after a war-damaged residential building in Gaza City collapsed early Wednesday morning, local authorities said, with dozens more feared trapped under layers of rubble.

Search and rescue operations are underway at the site of the collapsed Al-Sa’ada building in the city’s Al-Rimal neighborhood, where around 100 people are missing, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense agency.

The building, which is six stories high with four apartments on each floor, was targeted by Israeli airstrikes at the beginning of the war in Gaza following the October 7 attacks in 2023, the Civil Defense agency said.

Hamas’ media office in Gaza said the building fell onto “dozens of displaced families who had been forcibly driven to seek shelter there, amid the complete absence of alternative and safe places of refuge.”

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It added that thousands of structurally damaged buildings across the Gaza Strip, many of which are housing displaced people, are at risk of collapse.

“Since midnight in Gaza City a tragic, painful scene has unfolded: a brutal humanitarian event, as you can see in front of you under this residential building, where dozens of innocent people were trapped,” Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said Wednesday.

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“People woke up at 3 a.m. to screams and the crying of children who were inside after the building completely collapsed on them,” he added. “We warn of further collapses like this incident in the Gaza Strip, in the areas where citizens are now sheltering.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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当地政府称，周三清晨，加沙城一栋受战争破坏的居民楼倒塌，造成至少 20 人死亡，其中包括几名儿童，另有数十人恐怕被困在瓦砾下。

据加沙民防部门称，在加沙城阿尔里马尔区倒塌的阿尔萨达大楼现场，搜救行动正在进行中，约有 100 人失踪。

民防部门表示，这座六层楼高的建筑，每层有四套公寓，在2023年10月7日加沙战争爆发后，成为以色列空袭的目标。

哈马斯在加沙的媒体办公室表示，该建筑物倒塌时压在了“数十个流离失所的家庭身上，这些家庭被迫到那里寻求庇护，而完全没有其他安全的避难场所”。

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报告还指出，加沙地带数千座结构受损的建筑物面临倒塌的风险，其中许多建筑物安置着流离失所者。

“从加沙城午夜开始，发生了一起悲惨而痛苦的事件：正如你们眼前在这栋居民楼下看到的，一场残酷的人道主义灾难，数十名无辜民众被困其中，”民防发言人马哈茂德·巴萨尔周三表示。

哈马斯官员：我们仍然致力于与特朗普达成的协议。

他补充说：“凌晨3点，人们被尖叫声和孩子们的哭声惊醒，原来是建筑物完全坍塌后，他们被困在里面。” “我们警告说，加沙地带，特别是目前民众避难的地区，还可能发生更多类似的坍塌事件。”

这是一则正在更新的新闻。