Rescue teams in Gaza City continued a race to find survivors after a multi-storey apartment building that had been damaged in recent fighting collapsed in the Tal al-Hawa district, leaving at least 12 people dead, officials said. Dozens of residents remain unaccounted for as crews comb through concrete and twisted metal in search of anyone still alive.
Residents told reporters roughly 10 families had been sheltering in the building despite warnings about its structural safety. Video from the scene showed floors compressed together and workers hauling debris as bodies were recovered from the wreckage, illustrating how densely occupied, damaged housing can turn into deadly traps.
Members of the Hamas-run Civil Defence rescue service said they initially worked without heavy tools, operating with "empty hands", and blamed tight restrictions on what equipment can enter Gaza. The team later borrowed heavier machinery to assist search and recovery efforts, but rescuers and neighbours said the operation remained slow and dangerous.
The collapse occurred on a day when health officials and Hamas sources said Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians, including two children and a senior Hamas figure. The Israeli military said it had killed a Hamas commander in southern Gaza and another fighter in the north, and that children were among the fatalities in those incidents, according to the military’s account.
Separately, the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians reported that a patient was killed by an Israeli drone at a health centre it supports in Jabalia, adding to accounts of civilian deaths and impacts on medical infrastructure during recent operations.
Rescue work at the collapsed block continues while families and neighbours wait for news of missing relatives. The incident highlights the acute risks civilians face when sheltering in damaged buildings amid ongoing hostilities, and it raises fresh questions about local teams’ capacity to carry out complex recoveries under equipment and access constraints.
