Hamas Says Blast in Lebanon Caused by Short Circuit in Warehouse With Oxygen Cylinders

GAZA (Sputnik) - The recent explosion in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon was caused by an electrical fault in a warehouse that stored oxygen cylinders for coronavirus treatment, the Hamas movement said on Saturday.

Late on Friday, a source in the Fatah movement told Sputnik that several powerful blasts rocked the Burj al-Shemali refugee camp, located near the city of Tyre. Ambulances and firefighters were deployed to the site, and residents of neighboring areas were evacuated. Lebanese media reported that a weapons depot exploded in the camp.

"It is revealed that the explosion was caused by a short circuit in a warehouse that includes oxygen cylinders for coronavirus patients and an amount of cleaning products, disinfectants, and preliminary material allocated to fight the Covid-19 pandemic," the statement of Hamas read.

The Palestinian movement thanked Burj al-Shemali residents for coping with the accident responsibly and medical organizations and civil services who helped to tackle the fire and its consequences.

"Hamas deplores the misleading media campaign and the dissemination of fake news which have accompanied the accident... We also emphasize that Hamas has no connection to any statement made on the accident," the movement said.

Hamas said that some properties have been damaged by the fire, but losses were "slight."