GAZA, Palestinian Territory — One person was killed and 10 injured Thursday when an explosion tore through a house in a popular market, the interior ministry said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.
The blast in the Al-Zawiya area collapsed large parts of the house and damaged dozens of buildings and shops nearby, according to the statement.
Police explosives engineering teams continue to investigate the causes of the explosion. Civil defence teams and the police were able to control the resulting fire.
The blast shook the neighbourhood on the third day of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
The Israeli army signalled it wasn’t involved, calling the crisis an “internal” matter in Gaza.
Gaza City already was struggling with heavy damage it sustained from an 11-day war in May between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers. At least 254 people were killed in Gaza during the conflict, including 67 children and 39 women, according to the Gaza health ministry. Hamas has acknowledged the deaths of 80 militants. Twelve civilians, including two children, were killed in Israel, along with one soldier.
The World Bank earlier this month said rebuilding Gaza would cost $485 million, including up to $380 million to repair the physical damage alone.
The Associated Press
