Four killed in Gaza after sand embankment collapses onto tents, health ministry says

Three children and one woman were killed when a sand embankment collapsed onto tents in central Gaza following heavy rain, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

Five injured people were also reportedly rescued after the incident on Sunday night at a camp for displaced families south of Deir al-Balah.

Videos showed men using phone torches to search for survivors beneath boulders, sand and collapsed tents.

The Civil Defence service, which operates under the Hamas-run interior ministry, said the "humanitarian tragedy" should prompt urgent action by international organisations to provide safe shelters for displaced people and move tents away from sandy areas, slopes and locations at risk of collapse.

Torrential rain on Saturday reportedly flooded tens of thousands of tents across Gaza, leaving many Palestinians without a dry place to sleep.

The Civil Defence said water levels reached up to 1.5m (4.9ft) in some places and that its first responders were able to respond to only 10% of the 2,100 distress calls they received.

"Protecting the lives of displaced people is an urgent humanitarian responsibility. Their tents must not become death traps beneath sand and rainwater," it warned.

The Civil Defence initially reported on Sunday that three children and two women were killed when the sand embankment collapsed. But the health ministry said on Monday morning that only one woman was among the dead.

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