At least 12 Palestinians, including five children, were killed after a seven-storey apartment building in Gaza collapsed overnight, leaving dozens trapped beneath the rubble.
Fourteen others were injured and nearly 100 people were believed to be trapped, according to Gaza's civil defence service.
Rescue teams searched through the wreckage on Wednesday, using limited equipment to try to reach survivors beneath the concrete.
Raed Al-Dahshan, director of Gaza City's civil defence service, said at least 10 families were living in the building and rescuers could still hear voices from beneath the debris.
“We are still hearing voices from under the rubble, so there is still hope to find people,” Dahshan said.
Video footage showed rescuers trying to pull two people from beneath a collapsed wall. Separate footage shared on social media showed Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal carrying a young girl wrapped in a blood-stained scarf.
Alessandro Mrakic, head of the UN Development Programme's Gaza office, said UN rescue teams were involved in the operation alongside an Egyptian relief agency.
But rescue efforts were severely hampered by the shortage of heavy machinery.
“The situation, as you see, is tragic because we don't have the equipment and machinery that is needed. So there are actually people that are digging with their bare hands. We need to prepare (for more deaths),” Mrakic said.
He warned that hundreds of other buildings were also at risk.
“There are approximately 400 buildings at risk of collapse. And we know that these buildings will collapse, especially now with the upcoming winter,” he added.
The collapse has underlined the risks facing families living in buildings damaged during Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Gaza's civil defence service estimates that about 2,000 damaged buildings remain inhabited. With shelters and tents in short supply, some families have moved into partially damaged homes to seek protection from harsh weather.
Dahshan said residents had been forced to take the risk because they had few alternatives.
“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,” he said.
He urged residents to avoid severely damaged structures, warning that more buildings could collapse.
Palestinian and UN officials blame Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery for the shortage of equipment needed to clear rubble and conduct rescue operations. Israel says the restrictions are designed to prevent equipment from reaching militant groups.
The scale of destruction has left Gaza facing a huge task to clear debris and rebuild.
The UN estimates that Israel's military campaign, launched after Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, generated about 61 million tonnes of rubble and debris. The UN has said clearing most of it could take seven years under the right conditions.
Damaged buildings pose a further danger, with weakened structures vulnerable to rain, storms and further deterioration.
The collapse came despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 and halted large-scale fighting. Israeli strikes have continued, however, while negotiations over longer-term arrangements have made limited progress.
Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to implement U.S. President Donald Trump's broader plan for ending the conflict. The proposal includes an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
Israel, in turn, says Hamas has violated the agreement.
According to Gaza health officials, more than 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began. The Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed during the same period.
Hamas does not routinely distinguish publicly between civilian and combatant deaths among its own forces.
For families living among Gaza's damaged buildings, the latest collapse highlights a threat that has persisted even as the intensity of the fighting has eased: buildings weakened by years of conflict can remain deadly long after the strikes have ended.
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