The Wall Street Journal, relying on junta sources, reported a death toll of 2,028 in Myanmar, while the opposition National Unity Government, comprised of remnants from the administration ousted in 2021, placed the estimate at 2,418 as of Monday. Chinese state media confirmed three Chinese nationals among the deceased.

Rescue teams freed four individuals, including a pregnant woman and a child, from collapsed structures in Mandalay, the central Myanmar city located near the epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck on Friday, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Chinese rescue personnel transported one survivor, wrapped in a metallic thermal blanket, through mounds of shattered concrete and twisted metal at an apartment complex in Mandalay, as depicted in footage broadcast on the Chinese state channel CCTV. Aerial drone images revealed a massive multi-story building reduced to layers of concrete, though some golden temples remained standing.

The ongoing civil conflict in Myanmar, where a military junta took control in a 2021 coup, severely hampers efforts to reach those injured and displaced by the most powerful earthquake to hit the Southeast Asian nation in a century. Military aircraft from the junta's air force returned to bombing rebel-controlled villages in the northern region, areas already devastated by the earthquake. "Access to all victims is problematic... given the conflict situation. There are many security challenges in accessing certain areas beyond front lines in particular," Arnaud de Baecke, the local representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Myanmar, told Reuters.

A rebel faction reported that Myanmar's ruling military continues to conduct airstrikes on villages following the earthquake, prompting Singapore's foreign minister to call for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian assistance.

In Bangkok, Thailand's capital, emergency teams recovered another body from the rubble of a skyscraper under construction that collapsed during the quake, bringing the building collapse death toll to 12, with a total of 19 fatalities across Thailand and 75 individuals still unaccounted for at the construction site.

Scanning technology and search dogs were deployed at the location, with Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej stating that rescue teams are working urgently to access an area where signs of life were detected three days after the earthquake. She noted that survival chances diminish significantly after 72 hours, adding, "We must accelerate. We won't stop even after 72 hours."

The Israeli Defense Forces Spokesperson's Unit announced that a joint team of experts from the IDF and the Ministry of Defense landed Sunday morning in Bangkok following the earthquake. The team, comprising population and engineering officers from the Home Front Command's National Rescue Unit and coordinated by the International Cooperation Division, has begun establishing a situation assessment and transferring technological expertise to Thai authorities.

Myanmar state media reported the death toll has reached 2,065, with more than 3,900 injured and over 270 missing, announcing that the military government has declared a week-long mourning period beginning Monday.

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China, Thailand, India, and the United States have sent aid teams and supplies to Myanmar as international assistance gained momentum following a massive earthquake that destroyed large parts of the impoverished Southeast Asian nation on March 28, causing unprecedented destruction.

At least 1,600 people were killed and 3,400 injured in Friday's 7.7 magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest to hit Myanmar in a century, according to its military government. "All military and civilian hospitals, as well as health service workers, must work together in a coordinated and efficient manner to ensure an effective medical response," head of the junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said,  according to state-run media.

Civilian satellite imaging company Maxar released a series of satellite images from the city of Mandalay, showing the massive destruction of the urban landscape. The images show completely destroyed temples, tin shack neighborhoods that were "wiped out" by the quake, the collapsed bridge over the Irrawaddy River, and other prominent buildings that were destroyed or partially damaged.

Rescue teams in the country are suffering from a severe shortage of heavy engineering equipment and medical supplies and are forced to work with bare hands to rescue people trapped in collapsed buildings. The extreme heat prevailing in the country poses a real risk to the lives of those trapped, and the chance of finding people among the ruins diminishes as the hours pass.

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A catastrophic 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Southeast Asia on Friday morning, causing buildings to collapse in Myanmar and Thailand, with authorities declaring a state of emergency in Bangkok as rescue teams scramble to reach hundreds of trapped workers and residents while experts warn the death toll could reach thousands.

The quake originated at a depth of 6.2 miles, triggering widespread panic and destruction across multiple countries. Thailand's prime minister promptly declared a state of emergency.

During a live television broadcast in Thailand, viewers witnessed the dramatic moment when screams erupted as panic-stricken program hosts reacted to the studio violently shaking around them.

Thai media reported that seven buildings collapsed in Bangkok, with 43 workers confirmed trapped in the rubble so far. Khaosod, a prominent Thai news site, reported that the Auditor General's building under construction completely collapsed, leaving the fate of approximately 300 workers unknown at this time.

The powerful tremors were strongly felt across several countries in the region, including Thailand, India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, and Tibet. In Bangkok, Thailand's capital, buildings visibly swayed, emergency alarms blared throughout the city, and terrified residents fled into the streets seeking safety. Swimming pools atop high-rise buildings overflowed, sending cascades of water down the structures, while hundreds of people were evacuated from apartments and multi-story hotels.

Rabbi Nechemia Wilhelm, Chabad emissary in Bangkok, reported: "We felt the quake very intensely but thank God there was no damage."

A Myanmar fire department officer told Reuters: "We have begun searching and are patrolling throughout Yangon to check for casualties and damage. So far, we don't have any information yet."

A resident in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand described the experience: "I felt it for about ten seconds in my room and then realized I couldn't stay inside. So I ran outside to the street."

Devastating footage from Bangkok captured the moment one building under construction completely collapsed into a heap of rubble and twisted metal. Additional videos documented objects being violently tossed from side to side inside buildings, while footage from throughout the Thai capital showed water pouring from rooftop pools.

โอมายก้อด ที่จตุจักรตึกที่กำลังก่อสร้างถล่มเลย #แผ่นดินไหว pic.twitter.com/VrHsWbK6Nb

— ◡̈ ปะติ๊ด ೀ⋆｡ (@Inthemiddleoft9) March 28, 2025

Approximately 300 workers were at the Auditor General's building construction site during the earthquake. Currently, authorities cannot confirm how many managed to escape, how many remain trapped in the rubble, or how many have perished. Rescue and extraction teams are working frantically at the scene. Disturbing footage from the site shows one worker screaming in agony with only his upper body visible among the building debris.

Israelis in Bangkok during the quake shared their frightening experience with Israel Hayom: "It lasted almost four minutes. Everything moved, we felt real fear." According to their accounts, many residents quickly evacuated from high-rise buildings and gathered anxiously in the streets below.

The earthquake struck near Mandalay in central Myanmar, a city of 1.5 million residents. Circulating footage shows multiple collapsed buildings and debris scattered throughout the city streets.

At least dozens of fatalities have been confirmed in Myanmar, though officials expect the death toll to rise significantly. The country's ongoing bloody civil war and severe underdevelopment are complicating rescue operations.

Social media platforms quickly filled with videos showing the extensive damage: buildings violently shaking, terrified people fleeing through streets, and water erupting from pools on upper floors of high-rises. Multiple eyewitnesses in Bangkok continue to report concerning aftershocks.

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that strong tremors were also felt in Yunnan province in southwestern China along the Myanmar border, though no casualties have been reported in China. Witnesses contacted by Reuters in Yangon described scenes of mass evacuation as people fled buildings throughout Myanmar's largest city.

Dr. Ariel Heimann, geologist and researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), provided context on the earthquake: "This is a powerful earthquake that severely hit Myanmar and also Bangkok. Although most of the initial information is currently coming mainly from Bangkok, I estimate that the majority of damage and casualties will be in densely populated Myanmar."

He further explained: "The shallow depth of the quake, 6.2 miles, only intensifies its destructive impact. The cause of the earthquake is the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia, the same collision that formed the Himalayan mountain range. According to damage assessment by the US Geological Survey, more than a thousand fatalities are expected, and this is a very conservative estimate. There is potential here for many thousands of victims."

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A US class-action complaint, filed in California on Monday by law firms Edelson PC and Fields PLLC, argues that the company's failures to police content and its platform's design contributed to real-world violence faced by the Rohingya community. In a coordinated action, British lawyers also submitted a letter of notice to Facebook's London office.

Facebook has said it was "too slow to prevent misinformation and hate" in Myanmar and has said it has since taken steps to crack down on platform abuses in the region, including banning the military from Facebook and Instagram after the Feb. 1 coup.

Facebook has said it is protected from liability over content posted by users by a US internet law known as Section 230, which holds that online platforms are not liable for content posted by third parties. The complaint says it seeks to apply Burmese law to the claims if Section 230 is raised as a defense.

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An American journalist who was recently freed after spending nearly six months in jail in military-ruled Myanmar helped light the Hanukkah menorah during a holiday celebration in downtown Detroit.

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Danny Fenster, 37, joined elected and community leaders Sunday night for the "Menorah in the D" event marking the start of Hanukkah.

Fenster, who is from the Detroit suburb of Huntington Woods, was handed over Nov. 15 by Myanmar to former US diplomat Bill Richardson, who helped negotiate his release. He returned to the US the following day.

The managing editor of online magazine Frontier Myanmar, Fenster is one of more than 100 journalists, media officials and publishers who have been detained in the Southeast Asian country since its military ousted the elected government in February.

He was arrested on May 24 at Yangon International Airport and convicted of spreading false or inflammatory information, contacting illegal organizations and violating visa regulations. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison with hard labor.

"It wasn't a theme I thought about before the timing of my release and the timing of this event, but I think there's that obvious connection with bringing light to darkness in journalism," Fenster, who is Jewish, told the Detroit Free Press. "The things that I was arrested for, being part of the news organization that's trying to shed light on a very dark regime, seems obviously resonant to me."

"I can't imagine a better community to come home to," Fenster said during a reception prior to Sunday's menorah lighting. "And it's just made an already great, joyful situation even more joyful. Just had a lot of love and appreciation back home here in Detroit and metro Detroit, in the Jewish community and the wider community. It's just been incredible."

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan attended the ceremony saying none of the previous events have been as special as this year with the safe return of Fenster.

"This truly is a Happy Hanukkah in Detroit. God bless you," Duggan said before the lighting.

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Haaretz reported that the ambassador to Myanmar wished authorities good luck in tweets that have since been deleted ahead of the hearings next month at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

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"The ambassador's tweet was a mistake and was immediately amended," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Israel forthrightly condemns the atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya in the Rakhine region. Israel voted, a week ago in favor of a UN resolution condemning the atrocities."

More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military, which UN investigators say was carried out with "genocidal intent". The Buddhist majority of Myanmar denies accusations of genocide.

Myanmar's de facto leader, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, will lead a delegation to defend against accusations brought at the ICJ by Gambia, which has the backing of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Ronen Gilor, Israel's ambassador to Myanmar, had tweeted "Encouragement for a good verdict and good luck!" in one post, Haaretz reported with a screenshot of the since-deleted tweet.

Another tweet said: "State Counsellor going to respond for Myanmar in the ICJ! GOOD LUCK!"

Western countries have widely condemned Myanmar's actions in Rakhine state while China has offered support for what it terms are Myanmar's efforts to preserve domestic stability.

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