Hundreds of Palestinians riot in Saturday's protests in Gaza
Some 500 demonstrators hurl rocks and burn tires in weekly 'March of Return' protests along Gaza border fence, which unusually continued for an additional day; IDF said Palestinians threw three grenades and a pipe bomb at forces which prompted Israeli troops to respond with crowd dispersal measures.
About 500 Palestinians demonstrators, who massed at several points near the Gaza border fence Saturday, burned tires, and threw stones and explosive devices toward IDF forces.
According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, as part of the weekly "March of Return" demonstrations, Palestinian terrorists tossed three grenades at the Karni crossing, and threw a pipe bomb in the Rafah area, targeting IDF troops.
The Israeli troops responded with crowd dispersal measures, and no casualties were reported among the soldiers.
Saturday's clashes are the latest incidents in a series of violent attacks along the Gaza border reported in the past few days.
On Friday, Gaza's Health Ministry claimed that three Palestinians, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed and at least 30 had been wounded by IDF fire in the northern Gaza Strip during weekly riots.
The IDF said in response that it used necessary force in order to prevent border breaches by some 13,000 Palestinians who gathered at several points near the fence, some of them hurling rocks and fire bombs at troops, under the cover of smoke from burning tires.
Also on Friday, a bunch of balloons were discovered in a children’s playground in Kiryat Gat which were affixed with what appeared to be a combustible thread that did not burn.
Police believe that the balloons were sent from Gaza.
It was the second incident Friday involving incendiary balloons, with several balloons connected to an explosive device being found in Eshkol Regional Council near the Gaza Strip.
In addition, on Thursday, a pipe bomb was thrown at IDF troops near the Gaza border, prompting the force to respond with live fire targeting three Palestinians seen crawling along the security fence.
In all three cases there were no casualties and no damage was done. It was not immediately clear whether any of the Palestinians suspects were wounded as a result of IDF gunfire.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit issued a statement saying “Hamas continues to try and harm the defensive infrastructure of the security forces along the border fence while using civilians as shields and as cover for committing acts of terror."
Reuters contributed to this report.
