Palestinian medical sources announced the death of 21 people from the Abu Raya family in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, and the wounding of many others, following a large fire that broke out in a residential building in the camp.
Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee secretary Hussein al-Sheikh said on Twitter that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had ordered the urgent provision of “all forms of medical and other assistance” to those affected. since the fire in Gaza.
Palestinian President Abbas described the fire as a “national tragedy” and declared mourning for one day on Friday.
Al-Sheikh said in a statement that the Palestinian Authority has called on Israel to open the Erez crossing with Gaza to transfer serious cases outside the Strip if necessary.
The distressed family gathered to welcome the head of the household back from the trip, and a number of civil defense and police crews were injured and burned while trying to put out the large fire, the causes of which were as yet unknown. .
Witnesses said they heard screams but were unable to help those inside due to the intensity of the fire.
For its part, Palestinian forces and factions have declared mourning in the Gaza Strip for the victims of the fire.
The director of the “Indonesian” hospital in Jabalia, Salah Abu Laila, said, “At least 20 charred bodies arrived at the Indonesian hospital following a fire in a building belonging to the Abu Raya family in Jabalia.”
An official of the Civil Protection of Gaza, who arrived at the site of the fire, told reporters: “We have extracted many bodies and transferred the wounded to the Indonesian hospital”, explaining that the Civil Protection “has made enormous efforts to put out the fires, but our capabilities are very modest.”
Palestinian Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad Al-Bozom confirmed in a statement that civil protection crews “have finished putting out the fire that broke out in a building in Jabalia refugee camp,” noting that preliminary investigations have indicated “the presence of benzene stored inside the house, which led to the massive outbreak of a fire and the deaths of a number of people.” Cases of death.
Eyewitnesses said the fire was huge and broke out on the third floor of the three-story house.
Tor Wiensland, the United Nations envoy for Middle East peace, expressed his “heartfelt condolences” on Twitter to the families of those who died in the crash.
Jabalia is one of eight refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people and one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
