Deadly clashes in Gaza start campaign
6 weeks of protests planned against blockade
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Thousands of Palestinians marched to Gaza’s border with Israel on Friday in the largest such demonstration in recent memory, and 15 were killed by Israeli gunfire on the first day of what Hamas organizers said will be six weeks of daily protests against a stifling border blockade.
It was the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and Hamas.
Fourteen of the marchers were killed and more than 750 wounded by Israeli gunfire in clashes along the border fence, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
The Israeli military said thousands of Palestinians threw stones and rolled burning tires toward troops deployed on the other side of the border fence. It accused militants of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of mass protests, saying that in one incident, Palestinian gunmen fired at soldiers.
The large turnout of the flag-waving marchers in the dangerous border zone was a testament to Hamas’ organizing skills, but it also signaled desperation among Gaza residents after a decade-old border closure. Life in the coastal strip has deteriorated further in recent months, with rising unemployment, grinding poverty and daily blackouts that last for hours.
Asmaa al-Katari said she participated in the march despite the risks and would join upcoming protests because “life is difficult here in Gaza and we have nothing to lose.”
Gaza resident Ghanem Abdelal, 50, said he hopes the protest “will bring a breakthrough, an improvement, to our life in Gaza.”
He had brought his family to a protest tent camp near Gaza City – one of five set up several hundred yards from the border fence – where he distributed water bottles to women and children.
Israel had threatened a tough response, hoping to deter breaches of the border fence. The Israeli military released video showing a row of snipers perched on a high earthen embankment facing the Gaza crowd in one location.
Israel also used a new means of crowd control Friday – small drones that each dropped several tear gas canisters on protesters below. People quickly scattered when they saw the drones approaching.
Friday’s high death toll and prospects of daily protests in coming weeks have raised concerns about another escalation along the volatile frontier. Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas have fought three cross-border wars in recent years.
The protest campaign is meant to spotlight Palestinian demands for a “right of return” to what is now Israel.