Three Palestinian children have died in a Gaza house fire started by a candle, sparking internal finger-pointing over the coastal territory’s lingering power crisis.
Gaza’s Islamic Hamas rulers are accusing the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority of imposing taxes on fuel for Gaza’s lone power plant, worsening the crisis and raising the daily blackout to 18 hours. The authority rejects Hamas’ accusations and says the militant group has prevented it from working in Gaza.
The incident also sparked rare local criticism of Hamas policies, with some Gaza residents accusing it of diverting its scarce electricity to its attack tunnel network against Israel instead.
Hamas organized Saturday’s funerals for the children and its security services deployed police along the funeral procession’s route to quell any disorder and outward protests.

Fire kills 3 Gaza kids, sparks accusations over power crisis

Palestinian children look through a hole in a wall at a burned bedroom where three children were killed by candle sparked on their family house in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Saturday, May 7, 2016 (AP)
AP | Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Sunday 08 May 2016
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:51 - GMT 06:51
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