Five Palestinian children killed by blaze near Hebron

Five Palestinian children from the town of Taffuh have died in a house fire near Hebron, in the occupied West Bank early on Saturday. 

The children were aged between 5 and 14, according to the mayor of Taffuh Mahmoud Erzekat, who spoke to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Another 15 people were injured in the blaze - including the children's parents, who were believed to be in a critical condition in hospital.

The wounded were rushed to a local hospital by members of the Palestinian Red Crescent, while fire services attending the scene attempted to quell the blaze. 

A funeral service was held for the five children on Saturday afternoon, attended by hundreds of mourners from the town. 

Local authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire, which took place in an urban area. 

Taffuh is a mountain town of 16,000 residents situated around 8 kilometres to the west of Hebron, where Israeli settlers regularly use violence to dispossess Palestinians of homes and farmland. 

Olive trees are often uprooted and set on fire to make way for new settlements in the hills around Hebron, in violation of international law. 

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967 and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say. Its forces often protect Jewish settlers during confrontations with Palestinians, enabling their crimes to go unpunished.