The European Union has extended condolences to the families of Palestinian victims killed in the deadly fire that broke out in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.

In a statement posted on the “European Union and the Palestinians” Facebook page, the European Union Representative in Palestine Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff extended his sincere condolences to the families of those killed and injured in Thursday’s tragic fire incident in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip.

“We very much hope that those suffering from injuries will soon fully recover. This incident reminds us all of the sad and deteriorating situation in Gaza,” the statement read.

“The European Union continues to stand by the people of Gaza and supports all efforts to improve the living conditions of the population, especially those affected by poverty, illness and injustice,” it added.

According to the statement, the European Union Representative visited Gaza last week for the first time, and inaugurated the Limb Reconstruction Center in Abu Nassr Hospital.

As many as 11 Palestinian people were killed on Thursday and over 50 others injured when wildfires broke out in a bakery at Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

According to medical sources and eye-witnesses, the fire was caused by a gas explosion at the bakery, resulting in several deaths, injuries, and heavy material destruction.

The list of casualties includes at least four children, three women and two men, along with 15 critically-injured people.

At the same time, at least three residential buildings, 22 vehicles, four cinder block factories, a bakery, two restaurants, a carpentry, 50 stalls for peddlers, and an institute for the handicapped were totally destroyed by the wildfire.

Gaza, a Palestinian enclave which covers 140 square miles (365 square km) along the Mediterranean Sea, is home to some two million people. Israel maintains a blockade of the Strip, citing security pretexts.

Israel has over the past decade launched three major onslaughts on Gaza that have heavily damaged much of the enclave’s infrastructure.