Man who set self on fire sought help from Gaza govt

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A man who set himself on fire at a government office in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, wounding himself and four others, was identified Friday as an out-of-work taxi driver.

Muhammad Namrouti, 43, had been applying for financial aid from the government for two years but never received a response, said his wife in an interview.

“We don’t have even one tomato at home, and we have been going to offices of ministry of social affairs since two years, but in vain,” she told Ma'an on Friday.

On Thursday morning her husband went to the office of the Ministry of Social Affairs to check up on an application he submitted two years ago seeking financial aid.

“He was told to come back in June, and as he heard that response he immediately set himself on fire,” she said. more