Gaza building collapse kills 21 as Saudi intercepts drone near Mecca
At least 21 people, including 11 children, were killed after a building sheltering displaced Palestinian families collapsed in Gaza City on Wednesday, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed a drone headed towards the airspace over Mecca.
The developments came alongside signs of a partial recovery in oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and protests in northeastern Syria that stranded hundreds of oil trucks after fuel prices were raised by 30 per cent or more.
The building in Gaza City had been partially damaged in an Israeli strike earlier in the war. Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry, said at least 14 people were injured. It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse.
Building collapses have become a major risk in Gaza, where most buildings have been damaged or destroyed. There has been no reconstruction since the ceasefire nearly a year ago. Israel has said it will not allow rebuilding until Hamas disarms.
Saudi Arabia said its defences intercepted the drone on Tuesday evening before it entered the airspace over Mecca, Islam's holiest city. Military spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki said Mecca's security is "a red line" and added that Saudi forces would not hesitate to act against "hostile and terrorist behaviour." Saudi Arabia blamed Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis for the drone, but the Houthis denied it. The allegation drew condemnations of the armed group from across the Islamic world.
Mecca is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the site of the Kaaba, the black cube-shaped structure that Muslims face five times a day during prayers. Muslims believe Muhammad first received God's revelations of the Quran in Mecca.
Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have recovered somewhat as tankers used a southern route near the coast of Oman with guidance from US forces. Estimates vary because ships switch off their location systems, but flows were put at an average of 5 million to 7 million barrels a day, against 15 million barrels a day before the US-Iran war began on February 28.
Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, another major oil route, was hit in a drone attack last week. The damage is expected to take weeks to repair and could cut Saudi exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu by 2.5 million to 2.7 million barrels a day.
In northeastern Syria, demonstrators blocked a main highway near Tal Tamr, leaving hundreds of oil trucks stranded. The protests followed a government decision on Sunday to raise the prices of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products, citing higher global fuel prices because of the US-Iran war and repair work at the Baniyas refinery on Syria's coast. Syria produces about 100,000 barrels of oil a day, against domestic demand of about 325,000 barrels a day, and depends on imports for the rest.
Wednesday's developments underlined the strain across the region, from the collapse of a damaged building in Gaza and a drone intercepted near Mecca to pressure on energy routes and fuel supply disruptions in Syria.
