Hamas blames electrical short circuit for Lebanon camp explosion

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian group Hamas has blamed an electrical short circuit for the explosion that rocked a refugee camp in south Lebanon.

An explosion took place in a warehouse containing oxygen supplies for COVID-19 patients at the Burj Shemali camp in Tyre province on Friday. Several injuries were reported.

"After examining the circumstances of the accident, and listening to eyewitnesses, we found out that it was caused by an electrical fault,” Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas also denied reports that dozens of people were killed in the blast, terming them as "fabricated”.

Home to 20,000 refugees, the Burj Shamali camp is one of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara