Eight children among 21 killed after war-damaged Gaza building collapses, rescuers say

At least 21 people have been killed, including eight children, and dozens are missing after a war-damaged building collapsed in the Gaza Strip overnight, local rescuers and medics say.

Witnesses told the BBC that the six-storey building in the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City had been left tilting dangerously to one side after an Israeli strike more than a year ago. Displaced families were living inside because they were desperate, they said.

UN agencies and an Egyptian team have joined the search for survivors, but officials say it is proceeding slowly due to a lack of equipment.

In the initial rescue effort, members of the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency resorted to using their bare hands.

"We are still hearing voices from under the rubble, so there is still hope to find people," said Raed al-Dahshan, the director of the Civil Defence in Gaza City.

He added: "The limited availability of shelter options forced residents to move into this building, believing it was safe. However, at one point it collapsed entirely, tragically crashing down on people as they slept."

A woman living in a tent nearby, Umm Mohammed Bakrun, said she had been talking to her son when the building collapsed suddenly in the early hours of Wednesday.

"It felt like an earthquake. There was a loud sound and I couldn't stand up. Stones rained down on us and when I looked outside I saw a lot of dust," she told the BBC. "Within minutes, there were screams everywhere."

Another witness, Mansour Abu Mohammed, said the building collapsed "in a few seconds".

"Every day, a stone or a few stones would fall from it, but the people inside couldn't find anywhere else to live. I used to live next door to it and you could see that it was tilting to one side."

Locals said some 10 families had been living in the building's apartments.

Satellite imagery shows that the area around the building was targeted in the early weeks of the war, while damage to the building itself first became evident in 2024.

The head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Gaza office, Alessandro Mrakic, told reporters at the scene that between 70 and 100 people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.

"The situation, as you see, is tragic because we don't have the equipment and machinery that is needed. There are actually people digging with their bare hands," he said.

Mrakic also warned that approximately 400 other war-damaged buildings across Gaza were at imminent risk of collapse, particularly as winter approaches.

"We need support, most importantly with machinery, equipment, among others. Our colleagues here don't have [engine] oil and spare parts to continue to work with all the equipment that is still in Gaza."

The UN's humanitarian relief co-ordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov, said he was "devastated" by the reports of the building collapse.

"No-one should have to risk their life simply to find a safe place to shelter," he said.

He also urged Israeli authorities to approve deliveries to Gaza of heavy machinery for rescue operations, as well as tents, tarpaulins and other non-food items for displaced people ahead of the winter rains.

Israel says its restrictions are meant to keep equipment out of the hands of Palestinian armed groups that could also have military uses.

An estimated 80% of all structures in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the UN.

More than 1.9 million people - about 90% of the territory's population - have been displaced, many of them multiple times, and 1.2 million of them are currently living in tents or makeshift shelters, it says.

The UN has warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire despite the ceasefire agreed last October, as Israeli air strikes and other attacks continue to hit populated areas, causing casualties and property damage and driving further displacement.

On Tuesday, Israeli air strikes killed at least five Palestinians, including two children and a Hamas commander, according to health officials and Hamas sources.

The Israeli military said it killed a Hamas commander in southern Gaza and another fighter in the north. In both cases, a child was also reportedly killed.

Separately, the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians said that a patient was killed by an Israeli drone at a health centre it supports in Jabalia in northern Gaza. A spokesperson for the Israeli military told the BBC it was not aware of such an incident.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.