A Palestinian health official said at least four Palestinians from the same family were killed and 13 people were injured in the Gaza Strip on Thursday by an explosion of Israeli military ordnance left over from last summer’s war.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said the ordnance exploded as Palestinian workers were helping family members remove rubble from a home destroyed during the 50-day war between Israel and the Hamas militants who rule the coastal territory.
The home, which was struck by an Israeli air strike on July 9 of last year, belonged to Ayman Abu Nqira, a lecturer at the Islamic University of Gaza. The Israeli military declined to say why it was targeted.
Rabie Abu Nqira, an eyewitness, said he was helping a crew remove rubble from the home using a bulldozer and another earth mover. “A huge explosion occurred,” he said.
Neighbors said the explosion might have been caused by cooking gas cylinders that exploded in the summer heat.
Last year, six people, including an Associated Press video journalist and his Palestinian translator, were killed as Gaza police engineers tried to defuse unexploded Israeli ordnance. Three people, including an AP photographer, were badly injured.
