A flood of sewage swept through a village in the northern Gaza Strip after a cesspit collapsed. Five people, including a four-year-old boy, were killed.
About 25 people in Umm al-Naser were injured by what the villagers said was a sewage "tsunami".
Officials said at least 25 house were buried in raw sewage, and many more damaged.
Many residents of the village, a farming community of 3,000, abandoned their houses as they fled to safety.
Trapped goats and other animals were pulled to safety.
There are fears that the death toll will rise further, as some people are still reported missing.
Palestinian Interior Minister Hani al-Qawasmeh - who rushed to the scene - was reportedly chased off by angry villagers.
Reports said shots were fired, forcing the minister and his entourage to flee the village, although it is unclear where the gunfire came from.
Aid agencies had reportedly long warned that sewage at the treatment reservoir was reaching dangerous levels.
Militants from the Hamas group and rescuers were helping to find those thought buried in the sewage.
Hamas also blamed the flood on the withdrawal of foreign aid.
Meanwhile, in Israel:
