Explosion kills four, wounds 30 at house in Gaza

An explosion that ripped through a house in the southern Gaza Strip Thursday killed four people and wounded dozens, an official said, but the cause of the blast was unclear.

"Four Palestinians were killed and 30 others wounded" in a blast inside a house in al-Shabura (refugee) camp near Rafah, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, updating an earlier toll of two.

Qudra said four of the wounded were in a serious condition.

Officials in the Palestinian territory said an investigation was underway to determine the cause.

Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, mourned in a statement the death of group member Abdel Rahman Abu Naqira, who was "martyred in the accidental explosion."

The explosion comes less than a week after a Palestinian toddler burnt to death in an arson attack by Jewish extremists in the illegaly occupied West Bank on Friday.