Ramallah: A mentally unstable and deaf Palestinian man murdered his mother and sister and then burnt their bodies in a fire he set in his house in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip late Monday.
The murderer’s two nephews were seriously injured in the blaze and remain in intensive care.
The killer also died in the fire.
In a statement, Eyad Al Bazm, a spokesman for the Gaza Interior Ministry, said that Aminah Abdullah Abu Nahla, 70, and her daughter Huda Mahmoud Abu Nahla, 55, were stabbed repeatedly with a knife before their bodies were set alight. The killer, Wael Mahmoud Abu Nahla, 35, then poured petrol on himself and set himself alight.
Al Bazm said once the fire was reported to Gaza Civil Defence, fire fighters rushed to the scene and fought to bring the raging fire under control. Two fire fighters sustained burns in the process and were hospitalised.
When stab injuries were found on the dead bodies of the aged woman and her daughter, police knew the case had a criminal dimension and began investigations in the matter.
Initial inquiries showed the killer bought a knife and several litres of petrol a few hours before the fire in a clear indication that both the murders and the subsequent destruction were premeditated.
Dr Ashraf Al Qedrah, a spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, said two infants sustained such serious burns they were referred to the European Hospital in Gaza for treatment.
