Palestinians at a Gaza refugee camp prepare to test a fire kite. Tensions are expected to rise as the Nakba, or catastrophe day, nears.
Every Friday since March 30, thousands of Palestinians have protested at the border fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel. The protests begin after Muslims leave mosques following Friday prayers, and most of the demonstrations have turned into bloody clashes with the Israeli military.
At least 49 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured since the protests began. Tensions are expected to rise this week. The U.S. moves its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Monday. Large protests are expected the next day at the Gaza-Israeli border because Palestinians observe May 15 as Nakba, or catastrophe day. May 15, 1948, was Israel’s first full day as a new country.
Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times
Photographs by Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times
PALESTINIANS in the Gaza Strip prepare last week to fly a kite that can carry burning materials. Kites have been used to set fire to agricultural fields in Israel.
A MAN WINCES as one protester carries another who was shot in the foot during protests at the fence in a camp east of Gaza City.
AYISH YOUSIF BADWAN sells sweets to Palestinians gathered to protest at the border fence separating Israel and the Gaza Strip in a camp east of Gaza City.
SABIR ASHQAR, who lost his legs in the 2008-2009 Gaza war, uses a slingshot during a protest near the border fence in a camp east of Gaza City on Friday.
YOUTHS NEAR Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip last week organize tires to be used in demonstrations. The tires are often set on fire to create a smokescreen.
PALESTINIANS wearing masks to hide their identities last week prepare a piece for a kite at the Bureij refugee camp near Deir al Balah in the Gaza Strip.