GAZA CITY: Crowds on Friday mourned the deaths of 21 Palestinians who perished in a tragic hearth of their residence in Jabalia refugee camp on Thursday night.

Tens of 1000’s on Friday took half within the funeral of the victims — most of whom have been girls and kids — of the home hearth that struck the Abu Raya household within the northern Gaza Strip.

The Jabalia camp is the most important of eight camps within the Gaza Strip, with a inhabitants of greater than 2 million Palestinians residing in harsh financial circumstances.

A grandfather and grandmother, two sons and two daughters, their wives, husbands and kids died in essentially the most tragic accident within the Gaza Strip in 2022.

Civil Protection couldn’t rescue any of the victims earlier than their our bodies have been consumed by the hearth on the third flooring of the residential residence, the place the household was gathered.

The household’s neighbors accused firefighters of arriving about 40 minutes late to the scene of the hearth, which lasted between 90 minutes and two hours.

One of many eyewitnesses, who took half within the try and extinguish the hearth earlier than the arrival of rescuers, stated: “After we heard a misery name from the household and noticed the hearth, we went as much as the third flooring, which was locked with a steel door.

“After opening the door with the assistance of the police, we have been unable to enter due to the thick smoke because of the hearth.”

The witness added: “Firefighters arrived on the scene a minimum of 40 minutes after the hearth occurred.”

One other eyewitness stated: “When the hearth vehicles arrived, they didn’t have the required gear to achieve the third flooring, and a automotive with a crane arrived after about an hour.”

The witness additionally instructed Arab Information: “The firefighters have been aiming water hoses on the home windows from the bottom towards the burning residence, which took a very long time to place out the hearth.”

Native authorities, led by Hamas, accused Israel of stopping the entry of essential gear for the Civil Protection because of the blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has lasted for greater than 17 years.

The federal government media workplace in Gaza referred to as on the worldwide group to press for lifting the blockade in an effort to assist Civil Protection, “which suffers from a scarcity of provides.”

Preliminary investigations by the Ministry of Inside confirmed that the household saved gasoline, which brought on the hearth to accentuate and unfold.

A specialised committee was fashioned to analyze the reason for the hearth.

The testimonies of neighbors differed concerning the possible reason for the incident.

Some stated that there was a gasoline leak within the residence through the household’s celebration of a kid’s birthday.

Others stated that the household had gathered to have a good time the return of the eldest son from overseas and his receiving of a doctorate.

The Palestinian territories witnessed a common mourning declared by President Mahmoud Abbas and authorities in Gaza for the victims of the accident.

Palestinians expressed their deep sorrow over the demise of a whole household within the hearth.

Fatima Al-Sinwar, from Jabalia camp, stated: “Gaza was doomed to mourn always and by numerous means, whether or not by hearth, struggle or blockade. Our hearts can now not bear greater than this ache.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Inside stated in a press assertion that each one these inside the home had died.

The UN, Egypt, Jordan, US and different international locations provided their condolences to the victims of the hearth.

The Gaza Strip has witnessed comparable hearth incidents which have claimed the lives of numerous Palestinians, essentially the most distinguished of which was attributable to a gasoline leak in a bakery within the Nuseirat refugee camp within the central Gaza Strip in 2020, resulting in 25 deaths.