Ramallah: Two baby sisters were burned to death early on Thursday in a house fire in Rafah city, south of Gaza.
The blaze also left their two other sisters and parents with moderate to severe burns.
The fire was caused by a candle the parents used to light the room where the girls were sleeping because the electricity was cut off.
The bodies of the two victims, Malak, two and a half years old, and Ghana, one and a half years, were recovered from the house by firemen.
The father, Fat’hi Shaikh Al Abd, his daughters Mada, 9, and Shahd, 4, sustained serious burns while his wife was moderately injured.
Gaza Police and Civil Defence claimed that tens of residents had died in similar circumstances during blackouts, which all areas of the strip experience due to fuel shortages.
The Ministry of Interior in Gaza urged residents to be careful with the use of alternative lighting methods during power cuts.
Eyad Al Bazem, ministry spokesman, said on his Facebook account that residents must be careful while handling candles.
