Gaza Strip fire kills 21 family members
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, their relatives said Friday. Thousands later joined a funeral procession for the victims.
Officials in Hamas-run Gaza 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 under way.
It was one of the deadliest incidents in Gaza in recent years outside the violence stemming from the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.
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.
Abu Raya challenged assertions that stored gasoline fueled the blaze, saying furniture made from flammable materials was more likely to have accelerated the flames.
“The disaster was that no one came out alive to tell us the truth of things,” he said. “I do not think that it was stored gasoline.”
Those killed were from three generations — a couple, their five sons and one daughter, two daughters-in-law and 11 grandchildren, according to Abu Raya and Mohammed Jadallah who had married into the Abu Raya family.
Gaza faces a severe energy crisis, largely because of a crippling Israeli-Egyptian border blockade that has been in place since the Islamic militant Hamas seized control of the territory 15 years ago. People often store cooking gas, diesel and gasoline in homes in preparation for winter.
17 bombing suspects jailed pending trial
A Turkish court has ordered 17 suspects jailed pending trial in connection with a deadly street bombing in Istanbul, accusing them of attempts against the unity of the state, deliberate killings and attempts to kill, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Friday.
The court released three other suspects from custody pending trial, Anadolu Agency reported. It also ordered the deportation from Turkey of 29 people who were rounded up by police in connection with the attack.
The Nov. 13 explosion targeted Istanbul’s bustling Istiklal Avenue — a popular thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants — and left six people dead, including two children. More than 80 others were wounded.
Turkish authorities blamed the explosion on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, as well as Syrian Kurdish groups affiliated with it. The Kurdish militants groups have denied involvement.
Prosecutors questioned the main suspect in the attack, a Syrian woman who is accused of leaving a TNT-laden bomb on Istiklal Avenue, for some five hours.
The woman, identified as Ahlam Albashir, allegedly told her interrogators that she had entered Turkey illegally and stayed at a house in Istanbul for four months, pretending to be a couple with one of the other suspects, the Anadolu Agency reported.
According to the news agency, Albashir also allegedly admitted to leaving a bag containing the explosive device on a street bench but claimed she did not know what was inside it.
A trial date is expected to be set after prosecutors prepare their indictment, which could take months.
The PKK has fought an armed insurgency in Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since then.
Democrat wins tight re-election race
Democratic Rep. Katie Porter was re-elected after a bruising campaign in Southern California where she spent over $24 million to defend her seat in a closely divided Orange County district.
With nearly all the votes counted, Porter defeated Republican Scott Baugh, a former legislator, 51.6% to 48.4%, or a margin of about 8,200 votes.
Porter was running in a substantially redrawn district that included her hometown of Irvine but also included many voters who were unfamiliar with her. The campaign presented a stark choice.
Porter, a star of the party’s progressive wing known for grilling CEOs during Capitol Hill hearings, anchored her campaign on protecting abortion rights and expanding health care access while spotlighting her work as a consumer advocate, including fighting high credit card fees. She argued oil companies were keeping supplies low to earn record profits.
The conservative Baugh, a former head of the county GOP, blamed congressional Democrats and President Biden for inflation, soaring gas prices and hefty taxes that cut into household budgets.
Porter’s win was another sign of the changing political complexion of Orange County, a place once known as “Reagan country” for its ties to former Republican President Ronald Reagan and conservative politics.
Once largely white and Republican, the county of more than 3 million has grown demographically diverse and increasingly Democratic. Biden carried Porter’s district by double digits in the 2020 presidential election.
The victory, although narrow, is unlikely to discourage talk about Porter’s political future — she’s often mentioned as a potential U.S. Senate candidate.