RismadarVoice Reporters
September 16, 2026
A multi-storey residential building collapsed in western Gaza City overnight, with six families reportedly trapped beneath the rubble as rescue workers and residents launched efforts to reach survivors.
Local witnesses and Palestinian journalists said the building came down during the early hours of Wednesday, prompting emergency rescue operations.
Verified footage showed civil defence personnel and residents searching through the debris, with some people using their hands to remove concrete and other rubble as they attempted to reach those believed to be trapped.
Several children were reportedly pulled alive from the collapsed structure. In one video, a young girl was rescued from the wreckage, while other survivors, including children, were seen emerging from the debris before being taken away in ambulances.
Witnesses said cries for help could be heard from beneath the rubble as rescue workers continued efforts to locate and evacuate those trapped.
The number of casualties, if any, was not immediately known, and there was no immediate official statement from Gaza’s Health Ministry or civil defence authorities on the scale of the incident.
Local media reports said the building had been damaged during an earlier Israeli bombardment, leaving it with cracks and structural weaknesses before its eventual collapse.
The incident has renewed attention to the condition of thousands of residential buildings across Gaza that were damaged or partially destroyed during the war and remain at risk of collapse.
Many residents have been forced to live in makeshift shelters or partially damaged buildings amid widespread destruction and a shortage of materials and equipment required for reconstruction and structural repairs.
Rescue operations have also been affected by limited access to heavy equipment needed to safely clear large volumes of rubble. In many cases, emergency workers and residents have had to rely heavily on manual labour during rescue efforts.
The search operation at the collapsed building was continuing as authorities worked to determine the number of people inside the structure at the time it came down.
