Three dead in Tel Aviv area explosion, fire

The explosion and fire occurred at a hardware store in the Jaffa area

A large explosion and fire in a building near Tel Aviv killed three people, Israeli police said early on Tuesday, adding that they were still investigating the cause.

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The explosion, which occurred in a hardware store in Jaffa late on Monday, caused adjacent structures to collapse.

Two men were pronounced dead at the scene, while a third died later of his injuries, police said.

Another four people were still being treated for their injuries, medics said.

A police spokeswoman said the three men killed had provisionally been identified as a Jaffa resident, a man from the Israeli Arab town of Taibe and a Palestinian from the occupied West Bank.

Police were still investigating whether the explosion was accidental or deliberate.