GAZA – Four Palestinians were killed and 92 were wounded Friday by Israeli military live fire in protests on the Gaza border, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. Thousands participated in what had been expected to be the largest march on the Israeli border fence in weeks.
According to the ministry, 618 Palestinians were wounded overall in the clashes as of 7 pm, of them 254 were hospitalized. One of those wounded was in critical condition, eight suffered serious wounds and 125 moderately injured. The ministry said that 117 people were wounded by live rounds.
The Israeli military was preparing for the possibility that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad would begin firing mortars and rockets when the protests ended. The military deployed a significant number of Iron Dome batteries near neighbouring communities.
While the army has in previous weeks said that Hamas was not interested in a major confrontation, the recent firing of dozens of mortars into Israel has led the military to believe that the Islamist group may seek a limited confrontation that includes the firing of projectiles.
Some 10,000 protesters demonstrated at five locations along the fence. An Israeli military post was damaged when it was fired upon from Gaza during the protests. In addition, dozens of kites and balloons carrying Molotov cocktails and explosives were flown into Israel, and explosive devices and grenades were thrown at Israeli troops.
