Jabalia Refugee Camp building north of the Gaza Strip on fire
By George Swarei
At least 21 people were killed and several others injured, Thursday, in a tragic fire that engulfed a residential building in Jabalia Refugee Camp north of the Gaza Strip, Gaza’s Interior Ministry said.
A preliminary investigation found a large amount of gasoline inside the building, which contributed to the escalation of the fire, it added. Everyone in the building was killed, ministry spokesman Iyad Al-Bazm said.
Hussein AlSheikh, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) executive committee secretary general, called on Israel to open the Erez crossing to allow the wounded to be transported to hospitals outside Gaza.
In a statement the Palestine’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe Tamer Almassri said Such fires could have been easily put off had it been that the Palestinian authorities had adequate equipment which has been hindered by the Israel siege and blockade of Gaza.
Almassri added that the Israeli blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip, in its current form, has been in place since June 2007, when Israel imposed an airtight land, sea and air blockade on the area.
“Israel’s siege on Gaza has devastated its economy and led to what the UN has called the “de-development” of the territory, a process by which development is not merely hindered but reversed.”
Ambassador Almassri stated that, “over the years, Israeli missile attacks and ground incursions have also damaged Gaza’s infrastructure which includes hospitals, roads ,government buildings ,water pipes, electricity and sewage treatment infrastructure.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it a national tragedy and said there would be a day of mourning during which flags will fly at half-mast at all official institutions.
