At least 12 Palestinians have been killed and dozens more are feared trapped after a residential building collapsed in Gaza early on Tuesday, the enclave’s civil defence said.
Rescue teams said they had recovered 11 bodies from the site and pulled 12 survivors from the rubble. An estimated 100 people, including about 50 children, were believed to be trapped under the debris, officials said.
The building collapsed at around 1 a.m. local time while residents were sleeping, according to civil defence officials.
The structure had sustained damage during previous Israeli strikes, the civil defence team said. Despite the damage, it was still being used as shelter by displaced Palestinians who had nowhere else to go.
Rescue operations were continuing on Tuesday, with residents and civil defence crews searching for equipment to reach those still buried.
Alessandro Mrakic, head of the U.N. Development Programme’s Gaza office, said teams from several U.N. agencies were assisting in the rescue effort.
He said operations were hampered by a lack of heavy machinery, with some people digging by hand.
Mrakic warned that an estimated 400 other damaged buildings in Gaza are at risk of collapse, particularly as winter approaches.
Palestinian and U.N. officials say shortages of heavy equipment are due to Israeli restrictions on machinery entering the enclave. Israel says such restrictions are designed to prevent the equipment from being used by militant groups.
The collapse comes amid widespread destruction across Gaza after nearly two years of war. The conflict began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The United Nations estimates the war has generated some 61 million tonnes of rubble across the territory, and that clearing it could take up to seven years.
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