At least 21 people, including eight children, were killed and dozens are missing after a war-damaged building collapsed in the Gaza Strip, according to local rescuers and medics. The six-storey building in the Tal al-Hawa area of Gaza City had been tilting dangerously since an Israeli strike over a year ago, witnesses told the BBC. Displaced families had been living inside due to a lack of shelter options, they said.

UN agencies and an Egyptian team have joined the search for survivors, but officials say the operation is proceeding slowly due to a lack of equipment. Members of the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency initially used their bare hands to dig through the rubble. Raed al-Dahshan, director of the Civil Defence in Gaza City, said: 'We are still hearing voices from under the rubble, so there is still hope to find people.' He added that the limited availability of shelter forced residents to move into the building, believing it was safe, only for it to collapse entirely, tragically crushing people as they slept.

A woman living in a nearby tent, Umm Mohammed Bakrun, described the collapse as feeling like an earthquake. '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.' He noted that stones had been falling from the structure daily, but residents had no other place to live.

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 is tragic because we don't have the equipment and machinery that is needed,' 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,' he said. '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 are currently living in tents or makeshift shelters. 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. Since then, more than 73,790 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.