Bloody day at Gaza border
15 Palestinians die in clash with Israel soldiers
Fifteen Palestinians were killed and more than 1,000 injured Friday when violent clashes erupted with Israeli troops during a series of mass protests along the Gaza border.
It was the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and Hamas.
About 30,000 Palestinians rallied during the “March of Return” on Land Day, an annual commemoration of the deaths of six Arab citizens of Israel killed by Israeli forces during demonstrations over government land confiscations in northern Israel in 1976.
But the protests were mainly aimed at demanding that Palestinian refugees be allowed the right of return to towns and villages their families fled from — or were driven out of — when the Israeli state was created in 1948.
Israeli troops faced “a violent, terrorist demonstration at six points” along the border fence, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Ronen Manelis said, according to the Times of Israel.
He said the IDF used “pinpoint fire” wherever there were attempts to breach or damage the fence.
“All the fatalities were aged 18 to 30, several of the fatalities were known to us, and at least two of them were members of Hamas commando forces,” he said.
The violence began before dawn when a 27-year-old farmer picking parsley in his field was hit by an Israeli tank shell in southern Gaza, the Health Ministry said. The IDF said troops di- rected tank fire toward suspicious figures on the border.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a speech in Gaza City that the demonstrations marked the beginning of the Palestinians’ return to “all of Palestine,” according to the Times of Israel.
“The Palestinian people have proved time after time that they can take the initiative and do great things,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman wrote to Gaza residents in Arabic on Twitter before the protests began.
“The leadership of Hamas is playing with your lives. Anyone who comes close to the [border] fence today puts himself at risk. I suggest to you to continue your lives and not participate in a provocation,” Lieberman warned.
The IDF accused Hamas of sending a 7-year-old girl across the fence in an apparent attempt to draw Israeli fire, Haaretz reported. But the little girl was returned safely to her parents, the military said.
The Israeli military also deployed a drone over at least one location to drop tear gas, police told Agence France-Presse.
Israel had warned that it would use live ammo on protesters.
But some Gazans said they didn’t care if they were killed.
“I want to be shot — I don’t want this life,” said 22-year-old Yahya Abu Assar, The Washington Post reported.