More than 20 victims were killed as a result of a fire in the Tel Al-Zaatar area, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the reports of the Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
During a press statement, the ministry said that the civil defense crews finished extinguishing the fire that broke out in a residential building in Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday evening.
Civil defence forces, backed by police, made 'great efforts to control the fire and prevent it from spreading to other houses', the ministry added.مشاهد من مكان الحريق الذي اندلع داخل بناية سكنية في #جباليا شمال قطاع #غزة.
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'Preliminary investigations into the accident indicate the presence of gasoline stored in a large quantity inside the house, which led to the outbreak of a massive fire and resulted in a number of deaths,' according to the ministry.
'The police and civil defence forces as well as the forensic teams are still working on their investigations into this tragic incident,' the ministry noted.
The fire broke out in the Abu Raya family residential building in the Jabalia Palestinian refugee camp.
For their part, the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces in Gaza declared a state of general mourning and strike.
In turn, President Mahmoud Abbas announced public mourning on Friday, and flags will be lowered to mourn the victims of the fire.