Palestinians say 2 killed by IDF fire in Gaza border protests
Some 2,000 Palestinians—including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar—gather in six places along Gaza Strip border on Friday afternoon, hundreds approaching border fence; IDF forces respond with crowd-dispersal means, reportedly killing a 13-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man.
Some 2,000 Palestinians gathered in the afternoon hours in six places along the Gaza Strip border, and hundreds of them approached the border fence. IDF forces responded with crowd-dispersal means.
The number of participants in the protests was higher than in the past few weeks due to the fact that no World Cup matches were held Friday.
Senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials, including the Hamas leader in the strip Yahya Sinwar, visited the protest centers.
Organizers of the “March of Return” campaign said Friday morning that the Palestinian people were united against US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” and condemned the attempts to “eliminate” the Palestinian issue and the proposals for a normalization of relations with Israel.
The IDF confirmed that a military quadcopter used to document the riots had been downed during the protests, saying there was no fear of information being leaked.
Since Friday morning, firefighters in the Gaza vicinity area have been dealing with 15 fires sparked by incendiary kites dispatched from the strip. All incidents were said to be under control.
Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, tweeted Friday in Hebrew and in Arabic: “Iran’s material and financial support for Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad is being used for protests and increased violence in Gaza. This is not the way to improve Palestinian—or Iranian—lives. It is time to turn a new page!”
On Thursday afternoon, Palestinian sources reported that a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed by an IDF tank shell while approaching the border fence in the Gaza Strip overnight.
The tank fired at the teen after spotting two terrorists crawling towards the border fence in an attempt to infiltrate Israel from the southern strip.
The IDF said the tank had fired at the terrorists and thwarted the infiltration attempt. Molotov cocktails were found in the area.
On Wednesday evening, three Palestinians were shot by IDF soldiers near the Gaza border after the army “spotted the terrorists damaging the fence and trying to infiltrate into Israeli territory from southern Gaza,” according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
The incident, which took place east of Rafah, left the Palestinians wounded. Their condition was not immediately clear.
“The forces responded with fire against the terrorists and prevented an infiltration,” the IDF statement said.
Palestinian media initially reported that four people had been injured.
Earlier in the day, the IDF fired at a group of Palestinians who tried to breach the border with Israel near Kibbutz Mefalsim.
A 15-year-old Palestinian teen was seriously injured and evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for treatment. His condition was described as critical.
Earlier Wednesday, the joint military branches of all terror organization in Gaza took responsibility for rocket fire on the Gaza border region Tuesday night, which they claim was in response to an Israeli attack on a Hamas militant's vehicle.
“A bombing will be answered with a bombing,” a statement issued from the strip said, adding that they are ready to retaliate immediately to any Israeli military provocation.
