3 children killed in candle fire in Gaza

Three Palestinian children were killed on Sunday night when a fire broke out in their house in the central Gaza Strip, officials said. The house caught fire as candles used amid power outages in Gaza lit a fuel store in their house, Palestinian (Ma'an) news agency quoted civil defense officials as saying. Emergency Services Spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya identified the victims as Sabri Raed Bashir, and his sisters Nadin and Farah. Their mother also suffered serious burns. Since Egypt sought an alternative route for fuel supplies to the underground tunnel network in mid-February, Gaza has faced up to 18-hour power cuts each day. The sole power plant in Gaza has shut down repeatedly due to a lack of fuel. International aid group Oxfam said last week that some 85 fires broke out in Gaza in January and February due to electricity problems. The fires were caused by generators exploding, electrical faults, interruption of power supply, burnt transformers, faulty electrical wires and candles to light homes, authorities said, adding that a further 51 fires were more broadly related to power cuts.