Three Palestinians killed at Gaza border

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops shot and killed three Palestinians who tried to breach the Gaza border fence, the military said Sunday, adding that an ax and a wire cutter were found in their possession.

Soldiers fired tank shells and machine guns at the men, according to a Palestinian medic, Izzat Shatat. He said the men had been close to the border fence, but that he was not sure if they actually crossed into Israel.

The attempted breach came at a time of heightened tension on the Gaza-Israel border, including more than a month of weekly mass protests near the fence. Gaza’s Hamas rulers have said the marches would continue until a decade-old blockade of the territory by Israel and Egypt is lifted. More protests are expected on Friday, as well as on May 14 and 15.

On May 14, the United States is to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, whose Israeli-annexed eastern sector is sought for a Palestinian capital. The move is seen by Palestinians as a U.S. breach of long-standing promises to help negotiate a fair arrangement for the contested city.

On the next day, Palestinians mark the “nakba,” or catastrophe, to commemorate the anniversary of their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israel’s creation. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from what is now Israel, and the border protests are also billed as a “Great March of Return.”

Since late March, 40 Palestinian protesters were killed and more than 1,700 wounded by Israeli army fire.

Israel has come under international criticism, including from the United Nations and the European Union, for the use of lethal force against unarmed protesters. Rights groups say the army’s openfire orders, under which troops are permitted to shoot at those approaching the border fence, are unlawful.

Israel says it is defending its sovereign border, including nearby communities, and that its troops target only instigators.

Israel accuses Hamas, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, of trying to carry out attacks under the guise of the mass protests.

The Israeli military said four men arrived in the area of the fence “with the intention of infiltrating and conducting a terror attack.”

It said troops arrived at the scene and fired shots, killing three of the men.