JERUSALEM, Friday, March 06, 2020 (WAFA) – The European Union today extended condolences to the families of Palestinians killed in a tragic fire incident in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The European Union Representative in Palestine  Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff issued a statement extending his sincere condolences to the families of those killed and injured in yesterday‘s tragic fire incident in Nuseirat refugee camp.

“We very much hope that those suffering from injuries will soon fully recover. This incident reminds us all of the sad and deteriorating situation in Gaza,” the statement said.

“The European Union continues to stand by the people of Gaza and supports all efforts to improve the living conditions of the population, especially those affected by poverty, illness and injustice,” it added.

According to the statement, the European Union Representative visited yesterday Gaza for the first time, and inaugurated the Limb Reconstruction Center in Abu Nassr Hospital.

At least ten Palestinians were killed and some 60 other were injured when a fire broke out in a bakery in the refugee camp.

Six children were among the dead and 14 injuries were in critical condition.

The fire is thought to have started from a gas canister explosion at the bakery in the Nuseirat refugee camp, before the blaze tore through nearby shops, factories and cars parked along the street.

With a population of 1.8 million, the Gaza Strip is one of the world’s most densely populated areas.

Israel has enforced a crippling blockage on the strip Hamas won elections in 2007, denying the impoverished enclave’s population their basic rights and causing a decline in their standard of living coupled with unprecedented rates of unemployment and poverty.

Israel has over the past decade launched three major onslaughts on Gaza that have heavily damaged much of the enclave’s infrastructure.

K.F.