Palestinians killed in protest near Gaza-Israeli border
GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP» Israeli troops fired live rounds and tear gas as thousands of Palestinians protested near the Gaza border fence Friday, and at least four demonstrators were killed, including a teenage boy, with over 600 wounded, Gaza health officials said.
More than 100 of the wounded, including a photographer for the French news agency Agence France-Press, were hit by live fire, the officials added, as the demonstrators burned tires, threw stones and flew flaming kites in the latest in a series of mass protests to call attention to a decade-old blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt. Israel says Gaza’s Hamas leaders are using the protests as cover to carry out attacks.
Late Friday, Israel said Gaza militants opened fire and struck an Israeli military post. No injuries were reported.
The march coincided with the annual “Jerusalem Day,” instituted by Iran to protest Israeli rule of the holy city. Israel and Iran have been enemies since Tehran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In the capitals of Iran and Iraq, thousands of Shiite Muslims marked Jerusalem Day with protests, with some chanting “Death to Israel” or burning Israeli flags and effigies of President Donald Trump.
Since the near-weekly protests began March 30, more than 120 Palestinians have been killed and over 3,800 wounded by Israeli army fire.
The overwhelming majority of the dead and wounded have been unarmed, according to Gaza health officials.
Among the dead Friday was 15-year-old Haitham Jamal. His family said he was taking part in a protest in Rafah, in southern Gaza, when he was shot. A total of 12 children under 16 have been killed in the protests.
AFP said one of its photographers, Mohammed Abed al-Baba, was wounded at a mass rally after Israeli forces opened fire. AFP said al-Baba was wearing a press vest and helmet about 200 yards from the border when hurt.
It said he was wounded below the knee while trying to take a photo of a wounded protester after Israeli troops opened fire.
The photographer’s injury was not life-threatening, but he was to undergo surgery.
Israel’s military had no comment on the incident.
After Muslim prayers at noon Friday, thousands of Gaza residents streamed toward five protest tent camps that were erected more than two months ago, each several hundred yards from the fence. From there, smaller groups walked closer to it.
In a camp east of Gaza City, activists burned tires, releasing black smoke. Others threw stones or flew kites with burning rags attached, aiming to send them over the border and set Israeli fields on fire.
Israeli troops fired volleys of tear gas, including from drones, that sent protesters running for cover.
One man with a bullhorn shouted, “America is the biggest evil.”
At one point, seven activists in black-and-white striped shirts meant to resemble concentration camp uniforms from World War II approached the fence.
“We want to remind the world that the Israeli occupation is committing the same massacres that the Nazis committed,” said activist Ahmed Abu Artima.
The attempt to draw a parallel between Gaza’s suffering and the Holocaust was bound to draw angry reactions. Israel was established in the wake of the Holocaust, marks an annual remembrance day for the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis and is home to the world’s largest population of Holocaust survivors.
In a statement, the Israeli military said protesters had launched dozens of kites and balloons with explosives toward Israel. It also said a number of “explosive devices and a grenade” were hurled during the protests and later said the military post had been struck by gunfire.