Four Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured in the fifth round of weekly protests along the Gaza border fence with Israel after a top UN official urged both Israel and Hamas to refrain from violence.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday morning that 15-year-old Azzam Oweida, who was hit in the head by a gas canister fired by IDF troops, succumbed to his wounds in southern Gaza.
His death brought the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of the Great March of Return to 45, with more than 1,500 wounded.
No Israelis have been injured.
The Israeli army said around 10,000 people had taken part in the “violent riots” along the border, with troops responding with riot dispersal means. The IDF maintains that it only opens fire at “main instigators” and demonstrators who engage in violence by throwing stones or molotov cocktails towards troops or those who attempt to breach the border fence.
In a statement, the IDF said that it had thwarted an attempted infiltration at the old Karni crossing in northeastern Gaza by “hundreds of rioters” who tried to burn the fence and enter into Israel. The crowd, it said, had thrown explosive devices, firebombs and rocks leading troops to open fire “in accordance to the rules of engagement” to stop the rioters.
The IDF accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to carry out attacks against IDF troops.
Late Friday night, the Israel Air Force struck six targets belonging to Hamas’s naval commando force in the Gaza port in response to the earlier attempted infiltration.
“The IDF considers with the utmost gravity the continued attempts by the Hamas terror organization to transform the fence zone into an area of violence and terror,” read a statement released by the IDF.
“The response to similar incidents will not be confined to the area of the border fence, and the Hamas terror organization will bear responsibility for the consequences even deep inside the Gaza Strip.”
According to local Palestinian media, 22-year-old Khalil Na’im Mustafa Atallah was killed in the strikes, which targeted boats in Gaza’s port that were preparing to receive supplies for the ongoing demonstrations, and several others were injured.
Ahead of the protests, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov urged both Israel and Hamas to refrain from violence during the protests.
“There has also been an increasing number of dangerous incidents at the fence, including the planting of improvised explosive devices — at least one of which has detonated — the throwing of Molotov cocktails, and attempts to breach the fence,” he said.
“Israel must calibrate its use of force and minimize the use of live fire. Hamas must keep protesters away from the fence and prevent violent actions and provocations. Children, who should be particularly protected, are at grave risk,” Mladenov added.
While Friday demonstrations remain violent security officials have noticed a marked decline since the first week of rioting which saw some 30,000 Gazans take part. The past two weeks have only seen a third of that.
Jpost Staff contributed to this report.
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