Israel set to move inside Gaza
GAZA STRIP: Israel will target militant groups inside Gaza if violence along the territory’s border with Israel drags on, the chief military spokesman warned yesterday, a day after 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the area’s deadliest violence in four years.
The violence significantly petered down yesterday as just small groups of Palestinians threw stones in several areas near the border fence, drawing Israeli fire that injured 25 people, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Saturday’s mass marches were largely led by Gaza’s ruling Hamas group and touted as the launch of a six-week-long protest campaign against a stifling decade-old blockade of the territory.
Protests are aiming to culminate in a large border march on May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel founding. The date is mourned by Palestinians as their ‘‘nakba,’’or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were uprooted in the 1948 Middle East war over Israel’s creation.
Organisers set up five tent encampments, each several hundred metres from the border to serve as launch points for protest.
Some young men broke away Saturday, throwing stones at Israeli soldiers on the other side of the fence, drawing live rounds and tear gas.
In two separate incidents, an Associated Press reporter saw two men who walked close to the fence get shot in the legs by soldiers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the soldiers for allowing the rest of the country to celebrate the Passover holiday safely.
‘‘Israel is acting determinedly and decisively to protect its sovereignty and the security of its citizens,’’ he said.
Palestinian health officials said 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and more than 750 hit by live rounds Saturday, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and Hamas.
In Saturday’s confrontations, large crowds had gathered near the fence, with smaller groups of protesters rushing forward, throwing stones and burning tyres.
Israeli troops responded with live fire and rubber-coated steel pellets, while drones dropped tear gas from above. Soldiers with rifles were perched on high earthen embankments overlooking the scene.
Israel’s military initially claimed that ‘‘thousands of Palestinians are rioting in six locations throughout the Gaza Strip, rolling burning tyres and hurling stones.’’ Video released by the army appeared to show fewer actually engaged in direct violence.
The chief army spokesman, Brigadier General Ronen Manelis, said that while thousands of Palestinians approached the border Saturday, those engaged in stonethrowing were in the hundreds.
Manelis denied soldiers used excessive force, saying those killed by Israeli troops were men between the ages of 18 and 30 who were involved in violence and belonged to militant factions. The army later released the names and ages of 10 of the dead.
Manelis alleged Gaza health officials exaggerated the number of wounded, and that several dozen at most were injured by live fire, with others suffering from tear gas inhalation or other types of injuries. He said soldiers knew who they were shooting at and how many people were hit by live fire.
The Gaza Health Ministry did not provide names and ages of those killed.
Four of the 15 dead were members of the Hamas military wing, the group said. The group said a fifth member who was not on the Health Ministry list was killed near the border, and that Israel has the body. It said another man is also missing in the border area.
Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital received 284 injured people Saturday, the majority with bullet injuries, said spokesman Ayman Sahbani. He said 70 were under the age of 18 and 11 were women.
Protest organisers have said mass marches would continue until the day of the ‘‘nakba,’’ an anniversary with particular resonance in Gaza where the vast majority of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees. The day, May 15, will this year also coincide with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Manelis said that Hamas and other Gaza militant groups are using protests as a cover for staging attacks.
If violence continues, ‘‘we will not be able to continue limiting our activity to the fence area and will act against these terror organisations in other places too,’’ he said.
The border protests were seen as a new attempt by Hamas to break the border blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant group seized Gaza in 2007 from forces loyal to its rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The continued closure has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern.
Life in the coastal strip has deteriorated further in recent months, with rising unemployment, grinding poverty and daily blackouts that last for hours.
The prospect of more protests and Palestinian casualties in coming weeks could also place Israel on the defensive.
At the United Nations, Secretary-general Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation, while Security Council members urged restraint on both sides.– AP
If violence continues, ‘‘we will not be able to continue limiting our activity to the fence area and will act against these terror organisations in other places too’’. Brigadier General Ronen Manelis, Israeli army