Sand collapse buries displaced families' tents in Deir al-Balah, Gaza

A sand and rock slope has collapsed onto tents housing displaced people in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. Reports say five people died, three of them children.

The victims came from two families who had fled bombardment in the north of the Gaza Strip. Several occupied tents were buried under heavy piles of sand and rock.

Rescue teams from the Egyptian committee, which works on relief in Gaza, rushed to the site and joined residents in the search. It was pitch dark. Paramedics and volunteers used floodlights, shovels and their bare hands to clear the sand and stones.

Survivors and witnesses described moments of terror when the sandy hill gave way. Rescuers and neighbours pulled a woman and her children from the rubble, and teams kept looking for others reported missing after families called for help.

The collapse shows the dangers facing displaced Palestinians, many of whom live in makeshift tents on rough, unsafe ground with almost no protection.