A damaged building collapses in Gaza, killing at least 12 people and other Mideast developments

The collapse underscores the danger facing families living in thousands of partially damaged buildings across the enclave, with hundreds of other structures also at risk. Dozens of people are missing beneath the rubble of a building hit by an Israeli strike last year, where some 10 families had been living. A building housing displaced Palestinian families collapsed in Gaza City on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people, most of them women and children.

The multistory structure was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war and there had been warnings about its… Full coverage can be found here.Collapse of a building housing families displaced by the war kills at least 12A damaged building in Gaza City housing about six displaced families collapsed on Wednesday morning, killing at least 12 people and injuring 15, according to Shifa Hospital. At least four children were among the dead.Dozens of people remained missing or trapped under the rubble and video showed civil defense crews surveying the wreckage and using bulldozers to dig out people, including children.The building had been partially destroyed in an Israeli strike earlier in the war.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse, but in Gaza — where the majority of buildings have been damaged or destroyed — dozens of multistory structures have collapsed throughout the war, particularly during winter weather.Building collapses have become a major hazard in Gaza. Displaced families have often returned from tent camps to homes damaged by bombardment during the almost three years of war.Saudi Arabia's military says it shot down a drone near MeccaSaudi military spokesperson Maj. Turki al-Malki said the kingdom's defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone on Tuesday evening before it entered the airspace over Mecca, Islam’s holiest city and a focal point for followers of the faith.Mecca is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the location of the Kaaba, the black cube-shaped structure that Muslims around the world turn to five times a day when praying.

Muslims believe Muhammad first received God’s revelations of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, in Mecca.The security of the holy city is “a red line,” al-Malki said, adding that Saudi forces will not hesitate to act against “hostile and terrorist behavior.”The Iran-backed Houthis in neighboring Yemen denied targeting Mecca. But the allegation drew condemnations throughout…