At least 21 killed, including 7 children, in fire at Gaza Strip block of flats
- Ambulances rushed people to local hospitals and Israel, which together with Egypt maintains a blockade on Gaza, said it would allow in those in need of medical care
- Gaza’s Interior Ministry said an initial investigation revealed that large amounts of petrol had been stored at the site, fuelling the blaze that engulfed the building
At least 21 people were killed, including seven children, and several others injured when a fire broke out in a building where residents attended a party in the Gaza Strip, health and civil emergency officials said on Thursday.
It took firefighters more than an hour to get control of the massive flames that burst through the top floor of a four-story residential building in the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip.
Ambulances rushed several injured people to local hospitals and Israel, which together with Egypt maintains a blockade on Gaza, said it would allow in those in need of medical treatment.
Gaza’s civil defence unit confirmed in a statement that 21 people had been killed.
The head of the Indonesian Hospital in Jabalia, Saleh Abu Laila, said the facility had received the bodies of at least seven children.
Gaza’s interior ministry said an initial investigation revealed that large amounts of petrol had been stored at the site, fuelling the blaze that quickly engulfed the building.
Witnesses said they could hear screaming but they could not help those inside because of the intensity of the fire.