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.

Rescue Efforts and Survivors

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

Structural Vulnerability

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.

Similar Incidents in Kolkata

In a separate incident in Kolkata, an under-construction warehouse collapsed on June 24. Migrant worker Manikchand Kumar (22) recorded a 32-second video with his phone, desperately calling for help and praying to Lord Hanuman. He called his relatives in Bihar, saying that he was trapped inside. After much effort, he reached the top tier and was pulled out by rescuers. His father, Rajendra Ram (55), and brother Soheed Kumar (26) were also rescued from the debris.

Three family members—Ghee Kumar (19), Mannu Kumar (19), and Surchan Kumar (age not known),died in the collapse. The family had come to work at the Taratala warehouse construction site in search of a livelihood but lost their lives in the tragedy. Manikchand Kumar said, “Six of us had come to work at the site and we are carrying three bodies home.”