The incident highlights the ongoing danger for tens of thousands of Palestinians who live in an estimated 2,000 damaged buildings due to Israeli airstrikes across Gaza.

Rescue workers from the civil defence said at least 12 people, including five children, were killed and 14 others injured when the seven-storey building collapsed. Nearly 100 more people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.

A video obtained by Reuters showed rescue workers trying to pull out two people from under a collapsed wall. Another video circulated on social media showed Gaza’s civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, carrying a little girl, wrapped in a blood-stained scarf, in his hands.

Raed Al-Dahshan, the director of Gaza City’s civil defence service, said at least 10 families lived in the collapsed building and there was still hope of finding survivors.

“We are still hearing voices from under the rubble, so there is still hope to find people,” said Dahshan.

Alessandro Mrakic, head of the UN Development Programme’s Gaza office, said rescuers from some UN agencies were taking part in the rescue efforts, which he described as difficult due to the lack of proper machinery.

Egypt’s relief agency was also taking part in rescue efforts.

“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),” said Mrakic.

“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.

Palestinian and UN officials blame Israel’s restrictions on Gaza for the lack of heavy machinery in the territory.

Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas’ raid into Israel in October 2023, has generated around 61 million tons of wreckage and debris that could take seven years to clear, according to the United Nations.

Dahshan warned residents to stay away from damaged buildings because of the risk of collapse. The local rescue service says about 2,000 damaged buildings are inhabited by families.

“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,” said Dahshan.

Many families have told Reuters in the past months that they resorted to living in partially damaged buildings to protect themselves against wind and rainstorms, and because of the lack of new tents for the homeless.

In October 2025, a US-backed ceasefire halted large-scale fighting in Gaza, but it has not ended Israeli strikes, and there has been little progress on steps towards permanent peace.

Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s broader plan to end the Gaza conflict, which includes an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the disarmament of Hamas.

Israel claims Hamas has been violating the deal.

More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to health officials, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed.

He issued the directives while chairing a meeting on an action plan for improving Pims, where the inquiry report and the performance audit by the Ministry of National Health Services were reviewed, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The August 26 fire at a nursery in Pims’ Mother and Child Hospital claimed the lives of 14 newborns. The incident raised concerns over fire safety measures and sparked calls for accountability, with criminal action being ordered against eight officials.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the prime minister directed that the short-term measures in the inquiry report should be implemented within the next three months.

He also emphasised taking “every possible step” to improve the hospital and align it with international requirements. He directed that assistance and recommendations should be sought from the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre for the fire safety system.

He also directed that measures to ensure the free provision of medicines and facilities at the hospital be made part of the action plan.

The prime minister called for personnel with strong professional reputations to be employed at the hospital, adding that a comprehensive action plan based on the recommended long-term measures should be formulated.

PM Shehbaz also directed to carry out an audit of Polyclinic Hospital to address irregularities, adding that a plan for its restructuring should also be prepared.

He said that Capital Development Authority (CDA) should ensure the implementation of fire safety measures in all public and private hospitals in Islamabad.

“The CDA and relevant agencies should also conduct fire safety audits of public and private offices and buildings and ensure the implementation of safety measures,” the premier was quoted as saying.

During the meeting, the premier was informed that the performance audit of Pims found only 39.7 per cent compliance against indicators assessed.

It was also informed that immediate implementation was being ensured on 37 proposed measures in light of the investigative report. The meeting was also briefed on short, medium and long-term measures for improving the hospital.

The inquiry committee was formed on PM Shehbaz’s directives on the day the fire occurred. It presented its findings and recommendations in a 43-page report on Wednesday.

The committee said that the deadly blaze was most likely caused by a localised electrical failure, while also calling out the hospital management for systemic and institutional failure that turned the fire into a catastrophe.

The committee, headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan, said in its report that abnormal localised electrical heating — possibly from excessive current, a high-resistance connection or another localised defect — most probably caused insulation failure and ignition of nearby combustible material.

The report, however, pointed out a “history of known but incompletely closed risks”, citing prior warnings, such as the fire at the nursing hostel in Pims. “Yet those warnings had not been converted into a comprehensive, time-bound and independently verified corrective programme before the nursery fire,” the report regretted.

The previous extension of the ban was set to expire on September 24.

“Pakistan airspace not available for Indian registered aircraft and aircraft operated/owned or leased by Indian airlines/operators, including military flights,” the Notam said.

According to the notice, the extension came into effect at 10:45am on Wednesday and will remain until 04:59am on Oct 24, 2026.

The country’s airspace is divided into two flight information regions (FIRs) — Karachi and Lahore, according to a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) document from 2022.

Wednesday’s Notam applies to both the Karachi (OPKR) and Lahore (OPLR) FIRs.

India and Pakistan closed their airspaces to each other’s airlines in late April 2025, when tensions between them escalated in the wake of a deadly attack in India-occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

On April 24, Pakistan’s top brass had announced a series of measures, including the closure of its airspace to all India-owned or Indian-operated airlines with immediate effect, as it retaliated against New Delhi’s slew of aggressive measures against the country.

New Delhi, without evidence, had alleged that Islamabad backed the Pahalgam attack. However, Pakistan had strongly denied any involvement and offered a neutral probe. The nuclear powers had the fiercest air battle in May, in which Pakistan said it downed seven Indian fighter jets.

Since then, Pakistan has extended the airspace ban several times, forcing Indian carriers to use longer and costlier routes.

For Air India, the country’s only carrier with a major international network, fuel costs rose by as much as 29 per cent and journey times by up to three hours on some long-haul routes, according to a document submitted to Indian officials last October.

The airline, owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, estimated the Pakistan airspace closure’s impact on its profit before tax at $455 million annually — a significant amount given its fiscal 2024-25 loss stood at $439m.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister recalled the government’s move to proscribe the JAAC in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in June. He observed that many questions were raised, including whether the ban was a political decision.

“At that time too, you were told that they were proscribed with great responsibility, based on the evidence that has reached us, investigation into which is underway and many things have surfaced,” he said.

The state minister went on to say that questions were raised about audio clips that surfaced on social media, allegedly linked to the JAAC, and whether they were AI-generated.

He then played a montage of news channels’ reporting on the situation in AJK in recent months, including incidents and footage that the authorities linked to JAAC and attacks on security personnel.

“Many of our critics continued to criticise these as well without knowing the facts,” Chaudhry remarked.

The state minister said a “network was captured” during an IBO, which began with tracing a person named Zia. He identified Zia as a resident of AJK who was “working as a weapons dealer for various people for the past eight to 10 years”.

“For the past two years, he has been directly supplying weapons to the closest members of JAAC,” the minister claimed.

He said Zia was arrested during an IBO carried out after security forces were targeted in a firing incident at Kashmir Mor.

Citing information obtained from his mobile phone and subsequent backtracking, Chaudhry said Zia was in contact with Majid, whom he said carried out special tasks for JAAC member Sardar Amaan.

The minister said close ties between Majid and Amaan were “known to everyone who has been part of negotiations on this issue in Kashmir or was in contact with JAAC”.

An audio clip was then played, allegedly of a conversation between Zia and Majid about sending armed men and Dragunov rifles. Chaudhry claimed more information, such as the cost of weapons and the ammunition used, could be presented before the public.

At the outset of his press conference, Chaudhry said about 200 IBOs were carried out daily, adding that there were “many questions raised”.

He noted the “role of Afghanistan and the people sitting in Afghanistan in terrorism in Pakistan and efforts to destabilise Pakistan”.

The state minister said there was a “terror-crime network here, which many people call their business but we call it a terror-crime nexus”, adding that it facilitated a plethora of illegal activities, such as smuggling of narcotics, vehicles, petroleum products and supply of weapons from ordinary criminals to large networks.

“This entire terror crime network facilitates the kind of actions that in Pakistan appear as terrorism and actions that are sponsored and managed in an organised manner through our eastern and western borders alike, from those two countries unfortunately.”

More to follow