GAZA

A fire that broke out in a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed a 16-year-old girl and her 2-year-old sibling and injured their mother and another sibling.

Shahd Mahmoud al-Medhun died at the scene, while her sibling Adam later died at a hospital after being transported in critical condition, health sources said Wednesday,

The children’s 43-year-old mother, Enam al-Medhun, and one-year-old Sidra were injured in the blaze. Both were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Witnesses said the fire started while the mother was preparing food for her children and spread rapidly.

Flames also spread to a nearby tent, and both tents were completely destroyed.

Authorities had earlier announced that a 16-year-old girl had died and her mother and two siblings were injured in the fire, which broke out late Wednesday.

In the Gaza Strip, where large-scale destruction from Israeli attacks has severely damaged civilian residential areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are struggling to survive in tents and temporary shelters without access to safe housing.

Power outages and fuel shortages in the area force residents to rely on primitive methods for heating and cooking, increasing fire risks in tents that lack basic safety standards and putting lives in danger.