21 die in fire at Gaza Strip apartment
JABALIYA REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — Twenty-one victims of a fire that tore through a top-floor apartment in the Gaza Strip during a birthday party were members of the same family, two of their relatives said Friday.
Thousands later joined a funeral procession for the victims.
Officials in Hamas-run Gaza have said Thursday night’s blaze in a three-story residential building in the Jabaliya refugee camp was apparently fueled by stored gasoline. They said it was not clear how the gasoline ignited, and that an investigation is underway.
The blaze destroyed the top-floor apartment in the building, home to the Abu Raya family.
Mohammed Abu Raya, a family spokesman, told The Associated Press that the extended family had gathered for twin celebrations — the birthday of one of the children and the return of one of the adults from a trip to Egypt.
Gaza faces a severe energy crisis, largely because of a crippling Israeli-Egyptian border blockade that has been in place for 15 years. People often store cooking gas, diesel and gasoline in homes in preparation for winter. House fires have previously been caused by candles and gas leaks.