Nineteen bodies, most of them women and children, were recovered from the rubble of a residential building in Gaza City, the civil defence department said. The building, known as Karam, had been destroyed in an Israeli attack. The bodies were recovered on Saturday after a four-day search and rescue operation in western Gaza.

Mohammed Abu Dan, who supervised the operation, said the search at the Karam building had ended after four consecutive days. Rescue work has been hindered by a persistent shortage of heavy machinery needed to remove broken concrete. Civil defence officials said rescuers are using basic and inadequate equipment, along with intense physical labour, because they lack tools capable of moving heavy concrete slabs.

Abu Dan said specialised medical personnel and civil defence rescuers would move to another location in Gaza City to begin search and recovery work. Gaza's Health Ministry said more than 8,000 people remain missing beneath rubble across the territory. Its latest figures said that since a ceasefire took effect on October 11 last year, at least 1,254 people have been killed, 4,121 injured and 804 bodies recovered from rubble.