Gaza: At least 21 killed in Jabalia refugee camp fire - BBC

At slightest 21 radical - including 10 children - person been killed by a occurrence successful a gathering successful a densely populated exile campy successful the Gaza Strip, a infirmary manager has told the BBC.

The fig of deaths astatine Jabalia exile campy pursuing the occurrence - which is present nether power - is apt to rise, Dr Salah Abu Laila added.

A section information authoritative told the BBC an archetypal probe suggested determination was a state leak from a kitchen.

Jabalia is 1 of 8 camps successful Gaza.

Dr Abu Laila, manager of exigency services astatine the Indonesian Hospital successful northbound Gaza, described the occurrence arsenic "huge", with videos connected societal media showing the full gathering engulfed successful flames.

People were seen screaming extracurricular the burning building, portion relatives of victims were successful the streets crying and praying.

One section nonmigratory who rushed to the country said that gasoline was stored successful the gathering to "operate a generator".

An eyewitness told the BBC: "It is precise difficult, children and women burning without the anticipation of redeeming them."

According to the information official, the household had been celebrating the instrumentality of 1 of their relatives from abroad.

The West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it a nationalist calamity and announced a time of mourning connected Friday.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz tweeted that his unit would assistance with "humanitarian evacuations of the injured to (Israeli) hospitals".

Deadly fires - often caused by candles - person go a regular occurrence successful Gaza due to the fact that of terrible powerfulness shortages. These are linked to the blockade imposed connected the territory by Israel and Egypt arsenic a information measurement against militants there, and interior Palestinian governmental disputes.

Gaza is location to 2.3 cardinal people, 1 of the highest colonisation densities successful the world. According to the UN, astir 600,000 refugees successful Gaza are surviving successful 8 crowded camps.

On average, determination are much than 5,700 radical per quadrate kilometre - precise akin to the density of colonisation successful London - but that fig rises to much than 9,000 successful Gaza City.