21 people killed: Gaza fire declared 'national tragedy'

ALBAWABA - A Gaza fire in the Jabalia refugee camp resulted in the death of at least 21 people. The social media has been inundated with pictures and images of the raging blaze. 

Residents of the apartment building were attending a party at the time and several were injured in the fire that ripped through one of the apartments.

Reports said the dead included women and children who were discovered in the building where the fire started. The number injured was not disclosed according to Anadolu news, adding that civil defense teams were eventually contained the fire that was sparked by gasoline stored in the building, according to preliminary findings, but an investigation is ongoing.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank -- a separate Palestinian territory -- considered the fire "a national tragedy," his spokesman said and a day of mourning was declared on Friday, with flags to be flown at half-mast, and offered to send aid to families of the victims to "ease their suffering," spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement according to AFP.

The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that Health Minister Mai al-Kaila ordered the injured to be moved to West Bank hospitals, if necessary the Turkish news agency reported.

Jabalia is one of eight refugee camps in Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million people and is one of the world's most densely populated locations and has been under Israel blockade since 2007.